Steelmen won’t run out of steam after Austrian camp

WHATEVER Motherwell’s shortcomings may prove to be in the coming season, a lack of fitness is unlikely to be among them. Based for a week in the picturesque Austrian village of Obertraun, Graham Alexander’s players faced a test of endurance that sounded like an army boot camp. Bevis Mugabi still shudders while recalling the experience but believes the benefit of it will become apparent soon enough. Asked if Motherwell were ready to face Sligo Rovers tonight after just two pre-season matches, the defender said: ‘Definitely. Especially after our training camp in Austria. I don’t think anybody wants to go back there anytime soon! ‘It was a hard shift — very tough. Especially with the 6am wake-up calls and then the running in the forest and the quadruple sessions we were doing. ‘We kind of expected it. Kevin (van Veen) worked with the manager in the past and had been talking about the off-season programmes that he’d done. ‘We went into it with the mindset it was going to be tough, but we never knew it was going to be that tough. ‘It was more of a mental battle, to get us mentally prepared for the season and it’s done that. I’d be surprised (if there was a fitter team).’ The prospect of starting the campaign with a European tie helped to drag the Ugandan international through it. His last experience at this level was a chastening one. Having helped to see off Glentoran, he was sent off in Coleraine and was forced to watch his team-mates progress on penalties from the stand. A suspension then prevented him from making the fateful trip to face Hapoel Be’er Sheva. This represents a chance for personal redemption. ‘I just remember walking down the tunnel devastated but we managed to get through on a penalty shootout, with Trevor Carson making a couple of good saves,’ recalled Mugabi. ‘It was very disappointing to miss the game in Israel. I watched online and seeing the boys getting knocked out wasn’t a good experience. ‘Being sidelined and not being able to help the team was disappointing. Now I’ve got another opportunity to have a good European run.’ With Sligo in the middle of their season, no one will take anything for granted. Yet this does feel like an excellent opportunity to progress to a stiffer test against Sparta Prague or Viking FK in the next round. ‘It would be a real experience to have a team like Sparta come here but we need to get the job done against Sligo and hopefully that will be the start of a run,’ said Mugabi.