Pre-Season Training Begins
Thursday, 5th Jul 2012 09:03

The Town squad will be back at Playford Road this morning for the start of pre-season training. The first day shouldn’t come as too much of a shock to the system with the players having been given individual fitness programmes for the summer months with plenty of players already having spent time back at the club and striker Michael Chopra at a $4,500-a-week health retreat in California.

Fitness coach Andy Liddell will be joined by Olympic Gold medal-winning rower Steve Williams, who joined the club as a consultant earlier in the week, with manager Paul Jewell wanting his squad fitter than ever for the season ahead.

The Blues’ only new signing of the summer, right-back Elliott Hewitt, won’t be involved as he is recuperating from the hip operations he underwent while with Macclesfield.

Central defender Luke Chambers is yet to complete his move to Town, while French-Guinean free agent Cheick Kourouma is understood to be at the club but with red tape preventing him from signing on the dotted line.

Town need agreements in place with his former clubs Genoa CFC Primavera, Real Zaragoza and Sochaux as development compensation is due (although none is likely to be paid) as he is below 23 years of age, as well as international clearance. However, the 19-year-old may still join in with his prospective new team-mates.

Striker Jason Scotland will be back at the club and will sign his new one-year contract as a matter of course.

We expect the Blues squad to be joined by the regular handful of eager trialists looking to win contracts ahead of the new season.

Town’s first pre-season friendly is in Holland against Helmond Sport on Tuesday 17th July. A full list of pre-season fixtures can be found here.

Photo: Action Images

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backinbeige added 09:15 - Jul 5 Who paid for Chopra's rehab?
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J45 added 09:16 - Jul 5 Good news about Jason Scotland need as much depth upfront as possible.
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99smle added 09:17 - Jul 5 Looking forward more and more to the new season now, knowing that the lads are back for pre-season. Chops seems confident about the up and coming season which i like. I live in Portsmouth so i will only be able 2 go 2 certain away games and i cant wait! COYB
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brittaniaman added 09:17 - Jul 5 MARCUS OF COARSE backinbeige
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gorse added 09:31 - Jul 5 3 signings :( Yes it's quality and applicability not quantity, but wonder what the division average is?
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rosseden added 09:43 - Jul 5 the club will have paid for it, if any one elses employer wanted to send them away for 3 weeks id expect theyd want the employer to pay for it too...... Anyone got any idea who this long list of triallists are?
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WeirdFishes added 09:48 - Jul 5 Photos?
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Wickets added 09:50 - Jul 5 Lee Martins new contract ! or will we be looking to sell him. The club was quoted as saying sign or risk being sold!
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Wickets added 09:55 - Jul 5 Mind you we also said "get them in early" !!
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cornishnick added 10:15 - Jul 5 And what about Daryl Murphy? News seems to have gone cold, I thought he was close to signing for a knockdown fee and reduced wages?
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PhilTWTD added 10:19 - Jul 5 Will be photos later.
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ITFCOYB added 10:39 - Jul 5 lol @brittaniaman Marcus of Coarse sounds like some sort of heraldic plebeian of ill repute... or maybe a medieval henchman to an evil baron...
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