Get an insight into Sydney FC’s Gold Coast training camp with Sky Blues’ midfielder Brandon O’Neill.
First couple of days up there how have you settled in?
Good! We arrived at the hotel and got settled straight away in my room. It’s a lovely hotel, we always stay here when we come to the Gold Coast. We did a little bit of a ball session out the back of the hotel on day one to get the legs moving after the flight then settled in to have dinner with the team. We had a tough double session on Sunday, all the lads got through it brilliantly, and we had a good single session on Monday, so all in all we’ve started the hard work and it’s been enjoyable.
How are the facilities?
Yeah it’s beautiful, all the boys love this pre-season trip to the Gold Coast because we know the training fields are in a really great location right on the water. We have everything here, all the equipment we need and the weather has been great as well. It’s a really enjoyable trip to get away and bond as a team and make sure we’re working hard in pre-season.
Today the squad paused for a minutes silence ahead of training on the Gold Coast in memory of @lesmurraySBS. #SydneyIsSkyBlue #RIPLes pic.twitter.com/6JyEY4jlFF
— Sydney FC (@SydneyFC) August 14, 2017
What’s been the focus of your first couple of training sessions?
Mainly to do with the fitness side of things. Everything we’ve done is always football related but we’ve had a lot of small sided games and a lot of possession drills and a bit more running to get that in the bank for your legs. On Monday we had a bit more of a tactical session with passing and patterns and then we had that afternoon off.
What did you do with your time off in the afternoon?
The last couple of days we haven’t had much time to do anything bar try take it easy in the time off we’ve had because the sessions have been quite tough. Modnay afternoon was no different, we just tried to relax, put the feet up and make sure the body is right for the next couple of days coming up. Thursday we have another afternoon off so we might do something as a team, perhaps a round of golf or something.
How’s Adrian fitted in?
Yeah he’s pretty good! You can tell straight away how good he is by his touches and technique. From what we’ve done he’s been fantastic and you can tell he’s played at a very good level. He’s a really good guy as well which is important so he’s fitted in really well. He’s learning about Australia pretty quick.
.@adrianmierzej86 checking out the @ALeague accolades he's set to win this season! ? #SydneyIsSkyBlue #WelcomeAdrian pic.twitter.com/39n9zsuXWs
— Sydney FC (@SydneyFC) August 12, 2017
How would you sum up the first couple of days of camp?
Really enjoyable. I know all the lads love this pre-season trip, it’s a great time to get away and focus on the football side of things and then secondly to bond as a team and get that team morale going heading into the season. The first couple of days have been very good, training has been sharp and intense which we’ve come to expect and we’re really looking forward to the next few days.
Stay tuned for Wednesday’s instalment as we catch up again with Brandon to find out how days 4 and 5 panned out.
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