Oxford United’s players worked hard today as their pre-season training camp in Spain got under way.
Having arrived at their hotel near Marbella last night the squad were up at 6am for a walk to a nearby pitch where a warm up was followed by a light running session and a four minute test to allow the sports science team to get fully up to speed, as well as the players.
After breakfast the players headed for the Marbella Football Centre where they were put through their paces with a gruelling set of runs and sessions before more medical tests and a gym session in the afternoon, all under the watchful eye of Karl Robinson and the coaching staff.
Karl told us
“We eased them into it a little bit today, although they maybe didn’t think so by the end! We have a very well put together schedule and we didn’t want to overdo things on the first day. The morning run was well before the sun really came out and then the morning was not just running- the ball was out a fair amount of the time as well.
“It’s a fascinating time for me. We have been together as a group for a while and players know that the work they do this week will help set them up for the whole season. We have a few players like Alex Gorrin, Sam Baldock and Marcus Browne who were injured last season but have come back and looked really strong and we have brought a few of the younger lads out here as well- James Golding, Yoav Sade. Will Owens, Slavi Spasov and Tyler Goodrham. That’s great for them and gives us a different dynamic.
“We hope to welcome a few new faces through the course of the week but day one has been excellent and we will have another early start tomorrow and build on the hard work from today.”
It wasn’t just the players with their boots on today either:
“No, we had a bit of fun at the end of the session” Karl laughed. “We bumped into an old friend of mine, Steven Fletcher who acted in Brookside, and Lee Ryan from Blue and they thought they would like to challenge the staff team. So we played their team after the session, while the players went back to the hotel. It was hard work in the heat but a good laugh.”
Flick through the full gallery above while iFollow has interviews with Karl, Head of Athletic Performance Harry Routledge and striker Sam Baldock.
The season is nearly here. Grab your season ticket HERE and be part of it