Graham Smyth has delivered some behind-the-scenes insight into the start of Leeds United's pre-season, and it may come of interest to the club's supporters.
What's the story?
Marcelo Bielsa's side have begun their pre-season preparations ahead of the new Premier League campaign, and Smyth has revealed the kind of work that the players are doing as they look to get up to speed.
He wrote in the Yorksire Evening Post: "Twenty-four of Marcelo Bielsa’s squad and a host of Thorp Arch medical staff descended on Leeds Beckett University’s £45m Carnegie School of Sport for the first day of pre-season testing.
"Players were screened and assessed at a range of stations as head of medicine and performance Rob Price and his team worked with university staff to ensure their footballers are all fit and healthy and to uncover base lines from which to maintain and recover fitness over the season.
"From strength assessment, to movement analysis and gait examinations – Max Dean ran on a treadmill so his form could be captured – staff of the club and the university left no stone unturned to paint a picture of each individual’s fitness and equip Leeds with the knowledge they will need when attempting to return players to action following injuries."
Fans may be intrigued
Dr Stacey Emmonds, a reader in sports performance at Leeds Beckett and former staff member at Thorp Arch who was also involved at Carnegie, added: "Players have been really enthusiastic today and they’ve all got straight stuck into everything. They are world-class facilities that we have now and that’s probably something that we weren’t able to offer previously.