Motherwell players spent the week enjoying warm weather training and the chance to bond together in Tenerife.
Manager Stephen Robinson hoped to recapture the spirit the pre-season camp in Ireland instilled in the team, as they prepare for the second half of the Ladbrokes Premiership season.
Arriving on Tuesday in the south of the island, the squad immediately got to work with some intensive training sessions, both out on the pitch and in the gym.
We also sat down with the manager to get his thoughts on what the week ahead would entail.
“In comparison to what we would have had in Motherwell, it’s been very good,” he said.
“I think we needed it, we did the same before the start of the season when we went to Dublin and I’m getting the same feel good factor coming back again.
“The boys are training at a high intensity, working really hard again and getting back to what we’re very good at.”
“I think the perception is that sometimes you come to a warm weather climate and you take it easy, well we’ve done the opposite.
“We’re having double sessions, we’re in the gym, we’ve got super facilities and you can do a lot of coaching out here.
“We gave the boys a few days off after the Hamilton game and we’re back on it again. We’re having double sessions, we’re in the gym, we’ve got super facilities and you can do a lot of coaching out here.”
Defender Richard Tait was similarly keen to use the Tenerife trip as a pick-me-up.
“The back end to the first half of the season was poor,” conceded Tait. “It wasn’t up to standard, was it? It’s form that is going to get you into trouble.
“Coming out here and using this week to come together as a team and put some more hard work in on the training ground will hopefully hold us in good stead when we go back.
“We started off the season well and that was probably due to going to Ireland and really grafting for the time we had there.
“We are looking to start our first match back with a win and carry on from there like we did in the first half of the season.”
Wednesday saw the team out on the pitch twice for training, as well as hitting the gym in between.
On Thursday we spent time with some of the injured players who made the trip to aid their recovery.
Chris Cadden, Craig Tanner and Peter Hartley spoke as we followed them through the different parts of their rehabilitation, and also got the thoughts of physio David Henderson.
Oh and did someone mention the hard work the players were putting in?
Thursday was one of the more gruelling sessions at Tenerife Top Training, as the heat picked up.
Influential midfielder Andy Rose was also on hand to give his thoughts on the camp and what lies ahead for the team on their return to Scotland.
“It’s been a really enjoyable trip so far,” the 27-year-old said. “There’s been lots of hard work and obviously the weather has been great and the facilities are fantastic.
“It was cold when we left but there’s a lot we can focus on over here all together in the heat of Tenerife.
“Getting away from everything and spending all day, every day together has been great. Bonding-wise it’s been important and tactically it means we can nail down things on the training pitch, so it’s been great.”
The hard yards were still being put in on Friday, but it also gave us a chance to have some downtime and a bit of fun.
We got Gael Bigirimana, Charles Dunne and new signing Nadir Çiftçi together for a game of Heads Up, with hilarious consequences.
Midfielder Liam Grimshaw is also a lively figure in the dressing room with his quick wit and one liners.
We thought it would be a shame to keep that behind closed doors, so we decided to give him his own chat show Grimmy Grills.
Watch our for more in the coming weeks but here’s his first episode with Cédric Kipré as he delves into the delicacy of snails with gravy and the towering Frenchman’s popularity with fans. And yes, he even sings his song.
Last up on Saturday was a friendly against Swedish side Ostersunds FK.
They are warming up to play Arsenal in the last 32 of the UEFA Europa League next month but, in a 70 minute match, the Steelmen were victorious thanks to Allan Campbell’s first half goal.
It was left then to manager Stephen Robinson to reflect on the success of the trip.
“I think it’s been a really beneficial trip and it’s brought a lot of people together,” he said.
“It’s gone really well. We couldn’t have asked for better facilities and we’ve been well looked after.
“The new boys that have come in have settled in really well. You can start seeing the buzz we had in Dublin starting to come back again.
“Credit to the board. They backed us to come away and hopefully it benefits us in the coming months.”
And then, before flying back to the slightly milder temperatures in ML1, the team took on one last task – the Crossbar Challenge.
Our thanks to Martin Tierney and Soccer Experience for their help in organising the trip.
