The hard work has started for Hearts in the Spanish sun.
The stag and hen dos flying into Malaga on Friday will be weary by the end of their trip as well, but for entirely different reasons. Robbie Neilson ’s squad may be based at a picturesque golf resort, but there’s a fair way to go before they can think about getting in a round or two in. A lighter session after arriving from Edinburgh will be followed by doubles for most of the week. Record Sport ’s schedule is less physically demanding, thankfully, after a late touchdown before a train journey to Fuengirola last night.
And it was an early start to make the short journey from there to training. It may be the cooler part of the day, but temperatures in the mid-20s are no joke for Neilson’s charges. It’s almost a full complement, with only new signing Kye Rowles and Nathaniel Atkinson not with the squad, the pair enjoying some well deserved time off after their World Cup heroics with Australia.
There are a couple of new faces here however, as Alan Forrest and Lewis Neilson start the bedding in and bonding process with their new teammates.
The nature of pre-season has changed dramatically even in the last decade or so.
Jim Jefferies’ brutal sessions in the Tuscan mountains were legendary, with players building their fitness with gruelling coffin runs at altitude.
A few lunches were seen again for some as they were pushed to their limit with hard running in the heat.
Nowadays, it’s all short, sharp, high intensity drills. Gone are the days when a ball wouldn’t be seen for weeks, and every metric is monitored to ensure workloads remain sensible and needless injuries are avoided.
Even psychologically, knowing that’s the plan rather than Gullane Beach’s ‘murder hill’ waiting for you must make things slightly easier.
Ice baths aren’t for the faint of heart, but must be a welcome relief - at least for a few seconds - when it comes to cooling off time, The number of chilled towels draped over heads illustrated how a few were feeling the heat.
Sheltered from any real breeze by the surrounding hills, there’s not much in the way of respite from the sun, while shade is limited in the morning.
But by the end of the week, Neilson will be confident his men will be well on their way to top condition in the hope of repeating their red hot Premiership campaign from last season.
