Pre-season is pain, perspiration and pole dancing. That’s my memory of going away with Hibs as the preparations for new season stepped up in sunshine jaunts outside Leith.
Watching on from a distance as Lee Johnson puts his new-look side through their paces in the Algarve has brought it all back. Pre-season is massive, especially when you go away somewhere and live in each other’s pockets. Getting to know your team mates inside out is really important, you start to create a good team spirit.
We went to Germany with Alex McLeish, I was a young guy coming through and it was a chance to make a name for myself. I finished the tour top scorer and that thrust me into the first team. You always get a night out at the end of a tour, so we had a few beers and went to the only nightclub in the region. It was pretty quiet, the type of place you have to create your own atmosphere.
