For the first few weeks of July it was taken as read that doing the hard yards on the training ground without a ball in view – and getting one or two of the summer excesses out of the system by virtue of strength-sapping runs up distinctly unfriendly gradients – was the accepted way.

Leeds United first-team coach Neil McDonald certainly remembers that era only too well, during a playing career that took in distinguished spells at the likes of Newcastle United and Everton.

Thankfully for today's players, the game has moved on apace since those bygone days when players would be forgiven for viewing the start of pre-season with a certain amount of terror and trepidation.

And while intense fitness work is still high on the menu, expect the balls to also be flying about at Thorp Arch when first-team training gets underway for the Whites' players tomorrow.

Fitness will be combined with ball work from the start of United's pre-season programme – as Gary McAllister seeks to cultivate the style and substance needed to turn the nine-10 month League One marathon into a success story from day one.

With pure footballing sides in Swansea and Doncaster proving beyond doubt last season that you don't require a physical approach and huge resources of stamina at the expense of skill to prosper, it's no surprise that United will complement traditional virtues with plenty of ball work.

And it's even less of a shock when you consider that McAllister was one of the most cultured pass-masters in his playing hey-day.


McDonald said: "When I was playing, it was just run, run, run! At Newcastle, it was running around the cross-country course at Gateshead, while at Everton, it was more football games and then lots of running after that.

"Every club is different, every manager is different – with the way he wants to go. But it's all certainly moved on from 20 years ago, that's for sure.

"You don't go on five-mile runs anymore and wake up the next morning and not be able to get out of bed because your legs are so sore.

"In my day in the first week, you never used to see a ball...."
On how United's pre-season will pan out, McDonald added: "In terms of the early fitness work, we'll get an idea from past experiences of the distances that the players can cover in a certain amount of time and we'll be building data up ourselves on where everybody is and how fit they are. That's the sports science side of it.

"All the runs are timed and distanced. But it's not gruelling runs, more short bursts and then checks.

"Thankfully, players come back a lot fitter now and know how to look after themselves more these days than they did in the past.

"With the injury prevention work we did last season, and what the players will have done in the close-season, hopefully, it will mean that the only injuries we get in pre-season will just be contact ones or players getting a few blisters.

"The most important thing is to get the football out, while also making sure we don't get any injuries.

"In the first week here, we'll be doing fitness sessions and then football-based fitness sessions. We'll be building the fitness up, while Gary will also be getting his ideas across on how he wants the team to play.

"The first week will be fitness work first, to make sure everybody is fit. But we'll also be getting the football out so it becomes fitness with football from an early stage.

"Then, as pre-season progresses, it will change around and become football with fitness before it will finally get to the stage where it's football with just a bit of fitness.

"Fitness is obviously important, but pre-season is massively about developing your game plan and style of play for the season ahead.

"The majority of teams in this league want to play good football, with the managers and coaches wanting to do it that way. There's also the entertainment factor as well, isn't there.

"Crowds don't want to come and watch long-ball football. They get bored, they want to be entertained.

"If you look at the European Championships, certainly Spain proved you can get the ball down and play and win.

"It shows that if you have belief in what you are doing, it can shine through massively – the way they played made everyone smile.

"The coaches and managers coming through here (in England) are all trying to win things by doing that (playing passing football), which is fantastic.

"I didn't really watch many of our (Leeds) games before I came. But I got the impression that they went a bit longer beforehand. Certainly, in the 16 or 17 games Gary has been involved in, we tried to play good quality, passing football and I'd imagine that will be the case this season."

The centrepiece of the Whites' pre-season programme sees them embark on a mini-tour of Ireland when they play games against Galway United, Bray Wanderers and Shelbourne in the space of seven days.

And while no self-respecting United fan wants to countenance the prospect of losing to a lesser light, for the club at least, McDonald insists the priority is on fine-tuning preparations for the big kick-off at Scunthorpe on August 9 – with results secondary.

He added: "The Ireland trip will be about bonding, but also we'll develop our game plan as to how Gary wants the season to pan out.

"At the same time, we will be building up the match fitness as well. The results really aren't important in the early stages.

"It's the first game of the season that we need to be spot on for and that's what we're building up for.

"We're not just building up for that, but up until the first international break. That will then gave us a chance to top up on our fitness and technique work.

"The games come thick and fast – Saturday, Wednesday, Saturday, Wednesday – in clusters of the season and you need to use the breaks to enhance and update those areas as the season goes along."

United's pre-season fixtures
Friday, July 11: York City (A, 7.45pm)
Wednesday. July 16: Galway United (A 7.45pm)
Sunday, July 20: Bray Wanderers (A, 3pm)
Wednesday, July 23: Shelbourne (A, 7.45pm)
Saturday, July 26: Barnet (A, 3pm)
Tuesday, July 29: Darlington (A, 7.45pm)
Saturday, August 2: Sporting Lokeren (H, 3pm).
leon.wobschall@ypn.co.uk