PRE-SEASON training is about to get into full swing, with hordes of stars set to return to their clubs this week.
Players that weren’t on international duty last month have already checked back in – although many will have been dreading it.
With balls often left inside in favour of running drills and gym work, the early weeks of pre-season can be gruelling for players.
Former Aston Villa and England ace Gabriel Agbonlahor has lifted the lid on some of his pre-season nightmares from years gone by.
Chatting on talkSPORT, the ex-forward said: “Pre-season was traumatic.
“I dreaded it because I knew I was coming back and it would be just running, blisters and more running.
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“You’d run in the morning session then have lunch. The older you get; you stiffen up and then you start at 2pm and run again.
“When you’ve stiffened up in recovery mode, you’ve got to run again. Your body is just in pain.
“I dreaded pre-season, honestly. We were like marathon runners by the end. I hated it – hated it.”
Last summer, a video of Tottenham stars being pushed to their limits in South Korea went viral on social media.
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Images of the likes of Harry Kane and Son Heung-min on their haunches brought back brutal memories for Agbonlahor.
He continued: “Remember the Tottenham players last summer? They looked like they were going to have heart attacks during their pre-season training in Asia. The running didn’t work for them anyway!
“You go away and sometimes the conditions are so hot and very dangerous. I remember Hong Kong and it was so hot and humid.
“It was dangerous. You had to change your top every 20 minutes because it was soaking. You were losing a lot of water.
Ross McCormack threw up on Nathan Baker
Gabriel Agbonlahor
“One person was sick. Ross McCormack threw up on Nathan Baker. He was sick on him while running.”
Agbonlahor, 36, did have some fond memories – particularly under former Villa boss Martin O’Neill.
He added: “It’s not all bad. The best one I can remember was when we went to Marbella with Martin O’Neill – I think it was more for the coaching staff to be close to the perfect golf course!
“We did one session in the morning and then we went to Ocean Beach Club for lunch and we had a little bit of a boogie and then had an afternoon session.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
