Thomas Christiansen will take his Leeds United squad to Spain on Monday for a warm-weather training camp.
United managing director Angus Kinnear reported in his programme notes for Saturday’s Championship clash against Millwall that the manager has been given the go-ahead to take the players overseas and they will jet out in two days’ time.
Kinnear insists that a week of double training sessions in warm conditions will help re-tune the squad following a difficult few weeks in which the team have crashed out of the FA Cup and have failed to score in their last three league matches, two of which have been lost.
“While the January transfer window will continue to dominate the media, the main focus within the club is still on optimising the performance of the strong existing squad, which we have absolute confidence has the capability to secure promotion,” Kinnear wrote in his programme notes, as quoted by the official Leeds website. “Thomas will take the team to a Spanish training camp on Monday for a week of double sessions which should provide excellent preparation for the season run-in.”
OPINION
Kinnear makes it clear that the trip to Spain will not be a jolly. The players will be put through their paces in a different environment where the weather will be a world away from the recent Siberian conditions in Yorkshire. It is a perfect opportunity to re-tune the squad following a difficult period and help acclimatise new signings Laurens De Bock and Adam Forshaw in frendlier climes. Credit also to owner Andrea Radrizzani for giving the go-ahead for such a trip. Mid-season camps in Spain did not happen under previous penny-pinching Leeds regimes, and the Premier League club-style outing should also be great for team bonding.