HIBS boss Mixu Paatelainen today revealed there will be no let-up for his players as they prepare for the beginning of their InterToto Cup campaign as he ordered them in for a sixth successive day of training tomorrow.
Paatelainen's squad have been undergoing double sessions every day since reporting back to the club's training centre on Monday but they'll work out again tomorrow before being allowed a day of rest. But with only a week to go before Hibs are expect
ed to face Swedish outfit IF Elfsborg in Edinburgh, Paatelainen insisted such a gruelling schedule was necessary. "There's been the usual mumps and moans but this is a very important part of the season. It's very demanding on the players and I know it is hard on the boys but it has to be done," he said.
"Our first game is next Sunday and I felt we needed quite a few sessions in our first week and we have loads of them. But the training has been balanced, we've done a lot of fitness work and we've had tactical sessions and, of course, the players have been closely monitored during the sessions."
And Paatelainen revealed he'd been delighted at the level of fitness displayed by his squad on their return following barely a month off. He said: "I'd planned pre-season training assuming the boys would come back fit and they have been shaping up well, I was delighted at how fit they were.
"The first day of testing went very well, their fitness levels were excellent. I could see the players had followed the programmes we had given them tremendously well while they were away, hence the fitness levels were very good.
"Even so, it's been hard running, nothing changes there."
Despite their heavy workload, Paatelainen doesn't believe his players will be at their peak in just eight days time, insisting Hibs entry into the InterToto Cup, along with the glamour showdown with Barcelona and clashes with English Premier League outfits Middlesbrough and Wigan Athletic, was all part of their preparation for the beginning of the SPL season on August 9.
He said: "Of course we want to do well against Elfsborg but they won't be ready to play sharp football next Sunday, they will still have their running legs on.
"But everything is geared towards our first league game, away to Kilmarnock. That's D-Day. The InterToto Cup matches are part of our preparations as is the game with Barcelona and our other pre-season friendlies.
"We want to have a good start to the league season."
The full article contains 440 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
