ST MIRREN are lining up pre-season friendlies against two Spanish teams after arranging a sunshine trip to the Costa del Sol. Express Sports can reveal that Danny Lennon and his players will head to Marbella on Wednesday, July 11, where they will spend seven days enjoying some warm weather training as they fine-tune their fitness ahead of the new season. And Buddies boss Lennon would like to lock horns with a couple of Spanish Second Division sides while they are out there as he steps up his preparations for the 2012/13 campaign. He told Express Sports: “The plan is to have a couple of bounce games during our time in Spain, just to get the boys up and running again. “Regardless of who the opposition is, it’ll be a good fitness exercise. “We’ll be out there for a week and the guys will be living in each other’s pockets, which is fantastic for team spirit.” St Mirren brought the curtain down on the 2011/12 season by securing a 0-0 draw with Aberdeen at Pittodrie – a result that was good enough to clinch a creditable eighth-place finish in the SPL. The Paisley players will now enjoy a well-earned break before reporting back to their Ralston training HQ on Thursday, June 28. They will then be placed in the hands of the medical team, who will assess each player’s fitness level over the next two days. Pre-season training will begin on Monday, July 2, and it is hoped that fitness levels will already be high by the time the squad jets off to Marbella nine days later. Lennon has paid tribute to St Mirren’s general manager, Brian Caldwell, for arranging top-class training facilities in Spain, while the club has also thanked the Jet2.com airline for their help in booking flights. “The good thing is that we’ve actually had a bit of time to work on exactly what we want, rather than having to grab something at the last minute,” said Lennon. “The place we’re going to has everything we’ll need. “I must give a lot of credit to Brian Caldwell, who has done a fantastic job in getting us the best facilities that were available within our budget.” Lennon has also stressed that the trip to the sun will be no holiday camp for his players. He added: “It will be nice to go out there and work with the boys but everyone knows the expectations that we have for next season. “In fact, we had a team meeting last Friday, which involved a fruitful discussion with the players. “We thought we would lay the foundations as to where we can continue to improve next season. “There are certain areas that can be developed and improved upon but the players are a great bunch to work with and, knowing them as I do, they will relish the challenge that pre-season brings.”
0 comments:
Post a Comment