The majority of Premier League clubs reported back for pre-season training on Monday, although for many of the players it will feel as if they have never been away. That is partly because the six weeks since the final league game of last season have passed in the blink of an eye but more to do with the fact that so few players have a proper break these days. Indeed, some are so determined to stay in shape that they take the fitness coach on holiday with them.
“Steve Cook wanted to really push on in the off season, so he asked if I’d go away with him,” says Ben Donachie, who works closely with Dan Hodges, Bournemouth’s head of sports science. “We went away for a week to do some training, between 17 and 24 June, and I had to pull the reins in a little bit because he always wanted to do more.”
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