ANDY Firth, the Rangers goalkeeper, has admitted both the ongoing uncertainty over the Scottish season and not being able to train due to the coronavirus pandemic have been tough for the Ibrox squad to deal with mentally.

Firth revealed that Steven Gerrard’s players hadn’t been back to their Milngavie base since being told the Ladbrokes Premiership game against Celtic had been postponed on Sunday - but could return today.

The 24-year-old, who joined the Glasgow club last year, confirmed that he and his team mates have endeavoured to stay in shape at home by following training programmes given to them by Gerrard’s back room team.

However, the former Liverpool youth player, who made his first team debut in the league match against Kilmarnock at Rugby Park at the end of last season, confessed the shutdown of Scottish football had been difficult for them all.

Speaking to the 4LadsHadADream podcast, Firth said: “When the Old Firm game got cancelled on Friday we were just told that everyone had a couple of days off.

“We were going to go back in on Tuesday, but with the SPFL cancelling the St Mirren game as well that changed the schedule as well.

“As it stands, we are supposed to be going back in on Friday and Saturday for a couple of days training, but nothing has been confirmed yet. We are waiting to see what the government do. It is still fairly uncertain.”

Firth continued: “We have been given programmes by the sports science guys to keep ourselves fairly fit and ticking over. We are just trying to stay as healthy as possible.

“The physical side is easy. We get given schedules to do bits of work which we can do at home and runs and walks we can go on.

“But mentally it is a little bit hard. We are trying to stay away from the training ground as much as possible so we can stay safe as a group. We can’t use normal gyms for obvious reasons. It is about trying to keep yourself ticking over at home where you can and keeping yourself outside in the fresh air where you can keep your body working.

“The mental side is probably the hardest thing because there are no set dates. Even when you get a month off in the off season you know exactly when you’re coming back, you know exactly when you have to be ready for it.

“This is the first time in my career, and I’m pretty sure it’s the first time in most players’ careers where nobody really knows exactly what’s going on. It is tough to deal with, but it is just part of the job. We have just got to make sure we stay switched on. Hopefully, as soon as this all passes over we can all get back to work.”

The 24-year-old confirmed the Rangers players had been kept up to date on developments by the Ibrox club and had remained in touch on WhatsApp and tried to keep each other's spirits up.

“It is a crazy time, something we have never had to deal with,” he said. “We are in regular contact in the group chat and messages from the staff get put in there through Tav (Rangers captain James Tavernier).

“But nobody really knows what’s going on. We are all in the same boat, waiting for definite answers. We are in a situation where they are probably not going to come soon.

“We have all just got to stay fit and healthy and whenever the call comes that we are going back in to training we have to make sure we are fit and ready to do so.”