Last week the trademark Cheltenham roar could be heard a little more than a mile away. Michael Duff spent training sessions competing with the hum of helicopters parachuting the rich and famous into the Cotswolds but occasionally he asks his squad to tune into another frequency to ensure they stay grounded: the sound of children playing football at Swindon Village primary school next door.
“We’ve done it a couple of times at the start of training,” Cheltenham’s manager says. “‘Lads, just listen. Just run around and listen.’ There is no thought of egos or anything like that – they haven’t got an ego because they’re six years old; they’re just running around enjoying themselves. ‘Enjoy yourself, what a great place to be.’”
