On Monday, the majority of Everton’s team will return to Finch Farm, signaling the beginning of a demanding preseason.
On Monday, Everton’s players will resume their pre-season training at Finch Farm, where they will embark on a demanding training regimen aimed at preparing them for the upcoming season.
The first week of training for the Blues players, many of whom have continued their fitness work over the off-season, will take place at Halewood. Following that, they will travel to a camp in Ireland in advance of the friendly against Sligo Rovers.
The majority of people have already spent a summer under Sean Dyche; but, those who haven’t will be treated to a harsh awakening, complete with his notoriously difficult Gaffer’s Day. Here are a few things to watch out for on Monday as the new season approaches.
The two players Dyche signed in the early summer are not players he has previously examined. While forward Iliman Ndiaye became an official Everton player this week, midfielder Tim Iroegbunam arrived from Aston Villa last month. This will be the couple’s first chance to meet their new teammates and the personnel that will be managing their advancement.
Naturally, Everton has signed three players this summer already. However, Jack Harrison’s arrival will mark the return of a well-known figure following his productive loan from Leeds United in the previous campaign. He won’t be the only character making a comeback. Mason Holgate was on loan from Southampton and Sheffield United during the previous season. Neal Maupay, on the other hand, began the season in Dyche’s starting lineup before going on loan to Brentford. Even though Thomas Frank’s team had success in London, they decided against moving permanently. This implies that Holgate and Maupay will have the opportunity to reunite with former acquaintances and colleagues.
Everyone who arrives at Finch Farm on Monday will undergo a series of tests and examinations as medical and fitness staff assess their health after the summer break over the opening days of the week. Last summer, those initial checks included getting baseline measurements for body fat and muscle mass as well as more general medical tests and work to judge players’ reaction times and the condition of individual muscles and joints. Gaffer’s Day – when the footballs are discarded for a day of hardcore physical tests set by Dyche – will come later.
Dyche’s ‘train how you play’ mantra
Once work starts on the grass there will be some features you are unlikely to spot. They include players wearing snoods and hats – while they will be donning shin pads. These were commands from Dyche that were made as soon as he arrived at the club, with him explaining: “This has been going round for years and it drives me mad. Unless I’ve been out of the game for too long, you’re not allowed to wear hats when you play on a Saturday, you’re not allowed to wear snoods when you play on a Saturday and you have to, by the rules, wear shin pads. It is not rocket science. Everyone makes the mythical story that it’s hard lines from Sean Dyche. It is just common sense. You train how you play, how can you train how you play if you have 14 snoods on, 15 hats and leggings, no shin pads, white socks, it’s not relevant. I told the players, ‘these myths I’m going to bust them for you right now’. I explained to them. There is not a single player here where everything is not explained to them. I’d be surprised if any of them are in the dark on anything. I explain everything to them and the reason behind it.”
