Tottenham players will already have an idea of what to expect once Antonio Conte's pre-season training sessions begin at Hotspur Way. Arriving at the club at the start of November after Nuno Espirito Santo was dismissed following such a poor start to the campaign, the Italian knew he had plenty of work to do at their Enfield base if they were to get back on track.
Tottenham's players had to meet his incredibly high demands and this meant a number of punishing double sessions until they finally got up to speed and could compete at the level he requires. They certainly worked, as Spurs went from 20th in the Premier League for distance covered per game which was at 100km under Espirito Santo to topping the rankings at 115km under Conte.
Pushed to the max and more swiftly after his appointment and during the international break ahead of the Leeds United game, Sergio Reguilon claimed it was "one of the worst weeks of my life in training" as the boss looked for a drastic improvement. Speaking to the club's official matchday programme not long after the 52-year-old's arrival at Tottenham, Lucas Moura opened up on the head coach's "very hard" training sessions.
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"The training sessions have been very, very hard, but that is Conte's style, and he loves that - the high intensity," explained the Brazilian. "And it's not normal for us to have double sessions during the season; it's more of a normality during pre-season.
"They are not sessions to enjoy, but we know that they are very important for us, especially in the future in order to be fit and be able to put in the intensity that he wants and for sure, it will improve our game. It is about working. Football is about working hard and doing the best that we can do by putting 100 per cent into everything that we do."
An unusual period for Conte having taken on a job during the season and with games coming thick and fast for the Lilywhites, time is one thing he didn't have on his side to implement everything he usually would try to do during the off-season. This summer represents the first real chance the Italian has to spend a sustained period of time with his players and what happened back in November and December following his appointment may just be a brief glimpse into what is to come for the squad in the weeks ahead.
Players will of course keep themselves fit over their summer break but running, and lots of it, will be on the agenda as soon as they return to Hotspur Way. Tottenham made huge strides in terms of their fitness immediately after Conte's arrival and there will be not let up in standards at all as they look to kick on and compete for major honours.
As is the case at training grounds across the land at the start of July, the players may have to bide their time until they can have a ball at their feet as improving their fitness and taking it to another level will be the immediate priority. There will of course be a tactical aspect to the training, something former Chelsea player Oscar pointed out in his first pre-season with Conte back in the summer of 2016.
"I missed playing and I’m glad to be back. We are all training really hard and looking forward to the pre-season matches," he told Chelsea's official website. "Training has been very hard because it was a long break for me. But that’s what pre-season is all about, getting fit for the matches."
He added: "I really liked it and I think the team are really going to improve a lot this season. He’s very clear about what he wants from us. He spoke to everyone and it was very tactical with some good movements from the players."
Gary Cahill was a key member of the Chelsea team when Conte took over six years ago and he too gave an insight into what pre-season training was like following the appointment of the head coach.
"It was difficult. I have been there before where pre-season has been very tough and this was the same. But also the way that we work in terms of tactics, analysis of games and things like this alongside the fitness work is something you have to buy into," he admitted, as reported by The Mirror. "As a group we thought things would be different. The way he likes to work is different to what I have had before. But when something like that happens, it's important the lads buy into what's happening.
"Change can sometimes be a good thing or a bad thing, but you have to buy into it and work hard on what he wants. He's had success in the past and he's brought the ideas that he strongly believes in to our club now. It's about the attitude of the players to buy into what we are doing. Yes it's different. Early on in the season we were doing fitness to get us to a level."
Now edging ever closer to July and the traditional start date for pre-season training, three of Tottenham's first-team squad will be back at Hotspur Way on Monday to begin their preparations for the 2022/23 campaign. football.london understands that Oliver Skipp, Japhet Tanganga and Matt Doherty will be back on the training pitch and looking to make up for lost time after the trio all sustained injuries in the second part of the campaign and missed plenty of football.
The rest of Tottenham's non-international players are expected back early the following week before the international stars return in time for the club's departure for their tour of South Korea. Conte's pre-season demands will be tough, incredibly tough to say the least, but it will only bode well for the team going forward as he looks to put them in the best possible position for a successful season in the capital.
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