How Burnley manager Sean Dyche is making the best of the national lockdown

And he has hailed the efforts of a number of people for helping bring the country together in unprecedented times.

Dyche, who usually splits his week between work and being back home, near Northampton, is making the most of being with his family for an extended period.

While he waits for some news in terms of being able to resume training and prepare for a Premier League return, he detailed what he has been doing to keep occupied: "My kids are older, going on 15, and 17, so the one exercise time a day we use together on the bike or go for a walk.

"Max is a scholar (with Northampton Town) so when we go on the bikes, he goes for a run, and stuff like that.

"He's in his first year as a scholar, but he was playing a lot more recently because a few of the second years had gone out on loan, so he was buzzing, but then this has obviously interrupted that.

"But they are old enough to get that there's a bigger picture - I feel for the little kids that are missing their football, they'll be going mad!

"I'm not making light of the situation, but I'm a professional jet washer now, I've got a new super-powered one, so I'm trying to find the jobs I'd never get time to do, because I live in two places."

Dyche has been pleased to see a return to some simpler pastimes: "It's a bit random, because you wouldn't want this situation, but I'm seeing the kids more and having more family time, just the simple stuff, making home-cooked food with the kids, stuff like that - there's a lot to be said for that side of things, and how probably it's been diluted over my lifetime certainly.

"So that's been good.

"But sorting out the bigger picture is the main focus for everyone.

"I'm lucky, I can mix it up with my kids, a bit of exercise, a bit of chat with us, lunch, they can go Facetime their friends.

"Just like everyone else, we're just hoping things can get sorted, or people can get on top of the situation and we can return to some kind of normal.

"Last week we caught up with friends on Facetime, filled our time with things like cooking, cleaning, this week we've planned on maybe getting into a box set or something, trying not to do everything at once

"You don't want to get everything done, you have to leave something to do!

"I've done a few things, a conference call with the FA with some other managers and coaches, a few conference calls with our staff...not really bothered the players too much, they know what the script is, we've given them some guidelines obviously, but there's no point bothering them every day when there's nothing to bother them with.

"We haven't got any news, we're all kind of stuck until some kind of meaningful news comes out."

While fitness coach Joe Wicks has been keeping the nation active with his morning YouTube exercise sessions, Dyche hasn't been tuning in, but hailed his efforts, and that of the NHS.

Asked if he'd been joining Wicks' millions of viewers, Dyche laughed: "Not quite, but it's amazing what he's doing, getting kids up and at it, and if you're not fortunate to be able to get out so much or haven't got a bit of garden or whatever, it's great.

"From every bit of bad news, there is some good news, and there are some positive steps being taken by a lot of people.

"The feelgood factor of trying to get behind the NHS, people having been in the NHS and going back to it, volunteers - there are some good things people are attempting to do, and that can help the country pull together, which hasn't always been the case.

"That's a positive, but, the bigger picture is a scary thing, so everything people can do to make a difference to the general public is a positive.

"Everyone is trying to use their imaginations, start finding different ways of how they can give people something.

"It is difficult, I admire people who are out there trying to do the bits of work they are allowed to, trying to safeguard the best they can."

And Dyche has settled into a new routine: "It's not easy, I'm probably a routineist, it's not quite as bad.

"All my life has been based around training in some way, and then resting in some way.

"So, actually, as long as I can get out and do my bit of work - I can't run at the minute because of my back, but cycling and stuff.

"That's kind of what I've been doing all my life, training for a period, then resting for a period.

"But we're just making sense of what we can do, and trying to occupy ourselves and include different things.

"The only benefit to me is that my daughter is actually off school, they did some distance learning last week and now it's an off period, so the demands are less on her actually doing school work, but for those who need that stimulus every day, it is difficult for parents.

"Alicia is a year away from her GCSEs, but there's all sorts going on, and when everyone thinks 'we've sorted that bit out', something else pops up.

"The knock on effect is incredible.

"The one thing is has done is open your mind up to the things you take for granted.

"All the complexities we take for granted because they are normalised in our life.

"I think people's mindsets changed, we get a little bit less 'me-minded', you start opening up to others and what the situations is.

"Ironically, you can't physically do anything with others, but the thought process is as strong as it's been, certainly in my lifetime, to be willing to affect others and help and try and do different things to stimulate some problem solving.

"But you can't physically get with people to do anything, so there is a frustration for everyone."

Dyche is well-known for his love of curry, and he revealed he has spent more time in the kitchen of late: "There are some places who are allowed to deliver, so we had a curry - believe it or not, I used to cook a lot when I was playing, so I've got back to that a bit and quite enjoyed that.

"It's about trying to find some positives out of a tough situation.

"We're all trying to do that, and not let it affect us too badly, trying to keep a smile on our face and get on with it."