There was a late change to Sunderland's plans for their week-long training camp in Portugal. Alex Neil's side were originally due to stay in a hotel slap bang in the middle of Albufeira, midway between the two centres of night-time activity known as The Strip and the Old Town.
But in the end - before flying out - they switched to a different five-star hotel in a more discreet setting on the western edge of the Old Town, a 10-15 minute drive from the Estadio Municipal de Albufeira. When they are not training, there are four outdoor pools, three restaurants, three bars (not that they will be using those!), and a swanky spa to enjoy.
There is also a magnificent golf course next to the hotel and, while there were no golf bags amongst their luggage, if Neil gives his players an afternoon off at some point you can expect to see a queue to form to hire a set of clubs.
