Before flying out to Portugal for the week-long training camp on Thursday, we caught up with Manager Brian Barry-Murphy to get his thoughts on pre-season so far…
He said: “Our lads are in a great condition.
“They have come back hungry and with a real desire to attack pre-season. Their attitudes have been exemplary.
“The guys have put in an amazing amount of effort and it has been very much a case of getting them going again and reminding them of what they’ve done in the past with a real eye on what we’re going to do in the future. We’re also embedding in principles of the way we want to play and what we’re going to do.
“There are elements of conditioning in getting them fitter and elements of what we’re going to be as a team. These are being incorporated as we progress towards the training camp in Portugal.”
He was also very much looking forward to the week-long training camp on the Algarve.
“The time away has been very beneficial to us as a club over a period of time and it gives us an opportunity to really put some stuff together and have the players working in a unique period of time that we don’t get over the rest of the season. We can have multiple sessions and all different types of training conditions, as well as different scenarios that we might face during the season.
“It’s a good chance for us to plan and prepare, and to put different practices into place. I believe that it’s of huge benefit and I’m very grateful to the club for putting on such a trip.”