Speaking to STFC PlayerHD after the first training session of pre-season, the first team coach added that it would be important to strike a balance between working with the football and fitness training.
“(the atmosphere has been) really positive,” he said. “It’s a good group of lads that have had a good summer break. What tends to happen now is that it’s not quite as intense to the point where people are collapsing and struggling to keep the pace – there’s a lot more consideration and a lot more thought goes into what we do so we’ve had the footballs out.
“(We need to) make sure we get that balance right so the boys ease their way back in. (We have to) increase the intensity to what they do and ensure they're improving their fitness day-in, day-out and week-in, week-out to make sure they’re ready not just to start the season but also to maintain that right the way through the season and ensure we’re constantly building and improving the physical state of the players. Football preparation runs hand-in-hand with that. Over the next week will be double sessions which won’t all be with the football but work in the gym so a real mixture in terms of preparation between now and the start of the season. Obviously that will be added to even more so once we travel to Ireland.”
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