To kickstart our LFE preseason trip, we arrived at Manchester airport around 7 o’clock ready for a 9 o’clock flight and arrived in Holland at around 10.
We took a coach journey to the hotel and before we knew it, we were quickly preparing for training in the afternoon.
All the lads were looking forward to going on tour and experiencing football in a different country compared to normal training back in England.
Our first training session was on a 3G astro pitch and we focused on passing drills, before moving onto a shooting drill to finish.
After training we went back to the hotel and had our evening meal. At this stage we were all feeling really tired after our flight and training session, so we were looking forward to a well-earned sleep!
After looking at the itinerary, the lads were looking forward to the games and tournaments ahead.
The games will hopefully present us with a fresh perspective of the different styles of play by playing against Dutch opposition. Exciting times!
The next morning we had another training session on the astro, where the focus was again on passing drills, followed by 6v6 games.
We had lunch and then went straight into the gym to complete a 45 minute spin bike session.
The hotel and the food has been very good to date, providing a comfortable environment for the remainder of the trip.
The weather conditions have been very mixed with periods of warm weather as well as heavy rain showers.
We’re hoping to be training on some grass pitches eventually!
The injured players have been able to continue their rehab, with the facilities being beneficial to the team.
Hopefully this should also help us avoid any further injuries threatening team selection for the games in week two.
For day 3, we were up at an early 7:30 and down for breakfast at 8 due to a double session.
The first session was physically hard and we started to feel as though the first few days were catching up with us!
The second session was, thankfully, a bit lighter and more technically based.
We then had another gym session which was very tiring for all the lads!
However, with all the physical work that we are doing the team is feeling a lot fitter and we should reap the benefits.
After the gym session, we went for dinner and completed tour diaries based on the first three days.
At last, we are looking forward to training on the grass pitches for the remainder of the tour!
Excitement is starting to build. The first game is getting closer against Sparta Rotterdam on Saturday… can’t wait!!!
