READY TO GET BACK TO WORK
ALBRIGHTON SAID PLAYERS KEEN TO RETURN AFTER HOLIDAYS
THE Leicester City squad were ready to return for training ahead of the new campaign, winger Marc Albrighton has said, even though last season’s heavy schedule left the players desperate for a holiday, writes Jordan Blackwell.
Albrighton was among the first batch of senior City players to return to the club’s Seagrave base for the start of pre-season training yesterday.
The squad are back in June, rather than July, with the Premier League campaign starting a week earlier than usual this coming season.
It ends a period of five weeks off for the players, and Albrighton says the break was much-needed after the strain of last term.
The club played 58 games in total, with the season taking in seven overseas European trips.
Albrighton told LCFC TV: “Last season I would say was the most
difficult of my career in terms of the amount of games, amount of travelling, and time away from family.
“It was well needed to get away with the wife and kids for a bit.
“If you ask a lot of the squad, there comes a time when you’re ready to come back in.
“I was ready to come back in and start working again.
“There were conversations I’ve not had for a few weeks.
“It’s always nice to get away from Jamie Vardy at the end of the season! But it’s always good to see him again when you come back.”
Only Vardy and Kasper Schmeichel of the current firstteam squad have been longer servants at City than Albrighton, with the 32-year-old now entering his ninth season at the club.
And being one of the older members of the squad brings worries as pre-season begins, with the titlewinner keen not to be shown up by the younger players.
He need not have worried about being thrown in the deep end for the first day back though.
Runs up and down the hills of
Bradgate Park or over the sand and gravel banks of Wanlip quarry are no longer part of the club’s routine, but rather a series of strength and speed tests with GPS devices, heart-rate monitors, and plenty more bits of technology involved.
Albrighton added: “There’s always a bit of worry in the back of your mind about where I’m going to compare with everyone else but having done it so many times, I know what I need to do to make sure I am in the right place.
“Every year since I’ve been here the standard goes up and up, so there is always that worry that as you’re getting older, you might get left behind.
“It’s down to doing everything right, looking after yourself, but enjoying your time off.
“But we’re all lads that like to keep healthy so we are doing the right things.”