Have got to stay motivated during this period — Paul Pogba

Paris, May 3 (IANS): France and Manchester United star midfielder Paul Pogba feel the key is to stay motivated during this period of Covid-19 crisis which has brought the world to a standstill.

Pogba, who won a World Cup with France in 2018, had only made eight appearances this season before football was postponed indefinitely on March 13.

Speaking to Manchester United’s official website, manutd.com, Pogba said: “I have a little home gym in my house,” Pogba said during an exclusive ‘Ask Man Utd’ interview alongside Marcus Rashford and Phil Jones.

“I can do some training, some running, some bike, go outside and do some things with the ball. I am just keeping busy and keeping healthy.

“We have got to stay motivated, there is no other choice. It is a period and we don’t know until when it will be like this, but I still have goals in my head and one day hopefully this (pandemic) will stop.

“And then we have to get back on the pitch, so we have to be ready. For myself, I have been out for a long time as well, so for me, I just want to come back playing football.”

Pogba also had some advice for youngsters who are not blessed with training facilities at home.

“My advice, first of all, is to stay safe, stay at home and keep practising,” he explains. “There is always a way to work, you can work with anything you have at home, you can still do sit-ups, push-ups.

“For abdominals and core work, you don’t need weights and stuff like that. You just need the work.”

Pogba said he is also maintaining regular contact with his teammates.

“I spoke with Eric, I spoke with Andreas, I spoke with Victor, I spoke with Juan, Jesse… we all talk, we send messages and stuff like this.

“We keep in touch and we see everyone (on-screen).

“If I had to isolate with somebody? Eric Bailly, for sure. He will make me laugh all day long!”