Rondos and relaxation - Inside Sheffield United's training camp as Blades get to grips with Ruben Selles style
Rondos and relaxation - Inside Sheffield United's training camp as Blades get to grips with Ruben Selles style
The searing Spanish sun was unrelenting and so, with Sheffield United’s Championship season drawing ever closer, were Ruben Selles’ demands. Day five at United’s training camp in Girona followed a well-earned rest on day four, but the Blades’ players were made to earn it.
This week is seen as the time in which Selles and his staff can really begin to make their mark on a group they inherited from previous manager Chris Wilder last month. It gives players and manager a chance to live in each other’s pockets for a week, with some enjoying a round of golf on the lush greens surrounding their hotel base. Others decamped to a nearby beach.
But when it was time to work, it was time to work. The Star was amongst the local outlets joining United in Spain this week and saw first-hand today the work going into the new season preparations, with temperatures at one point hitting the mid-30s.
“The week has been good,” said Selles. “We arrived on Sunday, and the way that we work is in cycles of three days, with a day to recover in between. A new cycle began today before we go back home. We have been strongly focused on the defensive work, as we usually do, and things are starting to fall into place as they get to know us a little bit more.
“The way we work is to give intensity in the early stages with what we call the counter-press and that has been the focus, when we lose the ball. The main thing so far has been how do we defend?
Inside Sheffield United’s Spanish training camp as clock ticks down to new season
“How do we apply the pressure, how do we recover from the high press to the low block and then what do we do when we win the ball back? That has been the main focus. It’s not like we only want one thing, it’s just that the focus is on that at the minute.”
After a gentle warm-up which gradually increased in intensity, United’s players were subjected to a ‘rondo’-style exercise which saw the two in the middle switch between boxes, and encouraged - not so politely at times - to give no inch.
It is all part of impressing Selles’ preference for an aggressive counter-press onto his players, who seemed to enjoy the challenge. A game followed between two outfield teams with small goals at either end and Selles refereeing, telling his players he was going to watch only for six minutes before stopping play several times to point out lapses in the press.
A drone flew overhead during the session, with the files downloaded and made available to the coaching staff for review later.
Then the Blades camp was split into two and walked through defensive set-up from corners and free-kicks by a hands-on Selles, baseball cap on head and whistle in hand. The Spaniard is clearly a man who is at home on the grass with his players, with new coaches Toby Loveland and James Oliver-Pearce also leading some sessions.
After that it was straight into the adjacent gym for United’s players, some dripping with sweat as they began their tailor-made programmes before a well-earned breather. At least until tomorrow.