Jay Emmanuel-Thomas has dipped into the training schedule of Olympic triple gold medallist Usain Bolt to ensure Ipswich fans are going to see the very best of him in the coming season.
His first campaign as a Town player following his move from Arsenal in July last year was a mix of some highs together with frustration, disappointment and inconsistency.
There were several explosive strikes and a number of Man of the Match performances, but just as many occasions when he seemed off the pace and was substituted long before the 90 minutes had expired.
But the 21-year-old expects to make a far greater impact in the new campaign after summer visits to a running school in Chiswick, West London, where the fastest man in the world has also taken advantage of the facilities on offer.
That preceded a full pre-season programme with Ipswich and Emmanuel-Thomas said: "This is the first pre-season I would describe as hard and I’m the fittest I have ever been in my career so far. Coming into it, based on what I was like last year, I expected to die. But I managed to survive and complete all the runs, apart from just one I think.
"The running school was great for me. I worked on my running technique. I did shot bursts, between eight and 16 seconds repetitively, and I feel it has benefited me quite a lot.
"They stuck me on a treadmill that was going at 38 kilometres an hour. Usain Bolt had been tested on it as well. They’ve had triathletes there as well as people who were running for Team GB at the Olympics. Some other footballers had also been there so I thought it would be good for me.
"It was all about coming back in decent shape. The reason I went to the running school was to keep my fitness up and make sure I came back a lot better than I was when I signed last year.
"Before we broke up in May the club gave me a choice to go and visit the school and see whether I liked it or not. It seemed like it was decent so I decided to give it a go because I felt it should benefit me and it certainly has.
"Over the course of last season it was all determined by how fit I was and how leggy I got during games. The manager has to base the team on players who are 100 per cent fit and obviously over the course of this season I shouldn’t be in the state I was last year. I should be flying, ready to go.”