Rob Elliot has been telling people to tune in to Sky Sports when they ask him about the prospective takeover of Newcastle United because 'that's all I do'.
The fate of the bid, which has been put together by Amanda Staveley and backed by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund and the Reuben Brothers, is now in the hands of the Premier League, who have been conducting their owners' and directors' test.
Supporters are patiently awaiting the result of that test at a time when a number of organisations, including Amnesty International and beIN SPORTS, have publicly voiced their disapproval.
For the players, there is little they can do but wait and the same goes for Project Restart. In a live Q&A with former Charlton team-mate Stuart Fleetwood on Instagram on Wednesday, Elliot confirmed they had yet to hear about a return to training at their Benton base.
"We're always kept on a two-week thing," he said. "Everyone's planning for the next two weeks and we get a programme sent through and stuff.
"It's so unique that you've got to be very respectful of the fact that people's health and safety is more important.
"People think I'm lying when I say that to them but you remember that you just don't get that much information. You're just an employee to a certain degree. You get given your fitness programmes and that sort of stuff.
"We're watching this takeover thing. Will it? Won't it? People ask me what's going on and I'm like, 'Just tune in to Sky Sports. That's all I do'.
"It's one of them ones where you know what it's like as a player. I've learnt as I've got older. You try and control what you can control. When you're younger, you worry about little things and stuff but as a goalie, there's only so much I can do anyway."
Before the lockdown came into force, Elliot's friend, former Durham cricketer Ben Harmison, asked him did he need anything from his gym in Ashington.
The goalkeeper borrowed a tyre, a pulley and some rope and has given an insight into the kind of work shot-stoppers do to keep fit at this strange time.
"We all follow the same track but, obviously, I just adapt mine for goalkeeping so I do certain bits of the running but mainly I've been doing a lot of CrossFit stuff," he added.
"It's just so relevant to goalkeeping. Just really short, sharp power stuff so I've been flipping tyres and doing burpees.
"Obviously, I'm 34 now so I've got to be more careful with my body and the quick power compound stuff, the Olympic lifting, is so much better for me than the long running and that sort of stuff so I try and take care of my core and try loads of power stuff.
"As a goalkeeper, we always joke around a bit. When you go back to pre-season, you do all the running. You're smashing out 5ks, 10ks and you go back to training and do one goalkeeper session and you're blowing. It's a fitness that's hard to recreate."
