Irish firm’s post-Covid advice to Premier League clubs

EVEN the most powerful sporting force in the world had to rely on more than the weight of its reputation in returning to action.

The Premier League is the most popular soccer league on the planet, and the most lucrative, too, but despite the desperation for a return, and the hundreds of millions of pounds at stake if the league was not completed, a rushed return was not an option.

Instead, as in the Irish instance, science was at the heart of its return.

The clubs that work with the company turned to Statsports for information on player proximity in games and training, and eventually Premier League officials also sought data from the company.

Sean O’Connor, who founded the company in 2008, with fellow Louthman Alan Clarke, explained the methodology to Sportsmail last month.

‘We looked at pre-Covid sessions and imagined a two-metre circle around someone’s feet,’ he said.

‘You can then evaluate how many times players incurred on other players. So, looking at pre-Covid, we had an average of just over three seconds. That was refreshing. People did not realise it was that low. We published a white paper and let the Premier League know what we were doing and they were really excited as it gave them the black and white data to come up with a phased protocol for training.

‘They can understand the effects of the session and how they can have a positive training session that is influencing tactically, physically and also safe.

‘What we were able to do was work with the Premier League and looked at specific drills pre-Covid, and worked out which types of drills will have higher incursions.

‘It is all common sense but when you put it in black and white it allows you to make good decisions.’