COLCHESTER United’s players have been arriving for training wearing kit at Florence Park, as part of strict guidelines in place due to the coronavirus pandemic.

U’s players have also been eating away from the training ground and having their own water bottles to use, as they gear up for their potential League Two play-off against Exeter City.

Colchester’s players have been given specific times to report for duty, with temperatures taken before smaller socially-distanced sessions take place.

And every player or member of staff who attends the training ground, prior to entering the venue, must complete a screening protocol to detect any symptoms.

U's players and staff must also complete a daily medical questionnaire, submitted before arrival at the training ground on training days.

If this is not given in before arrival, access to the training ground will be denied.

Colchester's players have been training in small groups and the squad has already been strictly limited to the 28 personnel who have taken part in the Covid-19 testing programme, in line with Phase One of their training return.

“Everything is in place and we have all of the equipment that we need,” said U’s sports scientist Perry Blanchette.

“Everyone knows the rules and regulations that we have to follow and we have to stick to those measures.

“It’s been a learning curve and Tony Ashby and Tony Humes have made sure that everything is in place, so we all know exactly what we have to do.

“Everyone knows their timings, in terms of coming into the training ground.

“Everyone’s been really good and been very focused on the training.

“It’s been a challenge and we’ve had to be a bit creative with how we have planned it.

“We’re hoping to get into Phase Two and Phase Three soon, with that contact training.

“It’s the new normal and the boys are getting used to that.

“The boys and the coaching staff know that we have to follow the rules.”

In the second round of Covid-19 testing, none of the Colchester players and staff who were tested returned positive results.

That follows on from the first phase of testing at Florence Park over the course of last Thursday and Friday, where four U's players and/or staff members returned positive results for the virus.

In line with the EFL protocols surrounding a return to training, the quartet have been self isolating at home.

They will then undergo strict monitoring procedures, including the need for a negative test, before they can return to the training ground.

But all of the other members of the U's squad and staff returned negative tests in the first round of testing and have been training this week ahead of their proposed game against Exeter.

The decision by League Two clubs to end the season - and proceed with automatic promotion and the play-offs – still needs to be ratified by the EFL and the FA.