Djoum relishes touch of the old school in Levein training regime
ARNAUD DJOUM is perhaps the only player looking forward to the merciless pre-season schedule lined up by Craig Levein.
The Hearts squad have been warned to expect a summer of toil and graft as the managercum-director of football demands a higher level of fitness for his first full season back in the frontline.
Djoum, absent since midFebruary with a ruptured Achilles, won’t be able to take part in any ball work when the squad assembles at Riccarton on June 21 but the Cameroon international is ready to slog it out with his team-mates on the long runs and gym sessions.
‘I have been told the manager’s pre-season is really hard,’ said Djoum. ‘It is apparently very old school but I want to be there, I can’t wait to be involved again.
‘Last season I didn’t do a pre-season, I came from playing in the Confederations Cup straight into the season.
‘The work you do in the summer is crucial, you need that base of fitness in the summer to help you through the rest of the year.
‘I am recovering well — initially they said eight-to-ten months but I am ahead of schedule.
‘If I can get back for the running part of pre-season then I will be happy.’
Levein’s determination to attack the new season with a fighting-fit bunch of players has also been evident in the speed with which he has conducted his transfer business.
By far the most pro-active of all the Premiership managers, he will have the bulk of his refashioned team on site for day one of training.
A planned trip to Germany has been shelved, meaning there will be an intense three-week schedule for the eight new players recruited already this summer.
Partick Thistle’s Australian midfielder Ryan Edwards is the latest to sign up, joining Ben Garuccio, Olly Lee, Bobby Burns, Steven MacLean, Uche Ikpeazu, Jake Mulraney and Zdenek Zlamal.
The overhaul is a legacy of Levein’s abandoned project with ex-head coach Ian Cathro which left a squad imbalanced both in style and age profile, the group bookended by teenagers and 30-something pros with little of substance in the middle.
A fit Djoum would be just the kind of 20-something player Levein is looking for as he recalibrates Hearts for next season and the cultured midfielder is eager not to be left behind.
‘The manager has signed a lot of players,’ smiled the 29-year-old, who has taken the first steps towards gaining his UEFA B licence with the SFA this summer. ‘We had a lot of loan players last season, so it was important for the manager to bring in players on permanent contracts.
‘Last season was hard — there were a lot of injuries, we were playing away from Tynecastle and the coach changed early in the season. We want to do better this time round and I think we will.’
Djoum’s foray into coaching came at the suggestion of team-mate Don Cowie, who is advancing towards his A licence.
Not only is he laying the foundations for a career into middle age, he believes the brain work involved in analysing the game will make him a better player.
‘I have enjoyed the coaching, it opens your eyes to a new way to see football,’ he added. ‘I think that can make you a better player.
‘Don Cowie told me there was no point in waiting. If you have time and can do it then you should. If you do it early then you are ahead of other people further down the line. It felt like the right time.’