Warnock: It's great to come out here
The Bluebirds kicked-off their North American training schedule on Friday morning in San Antonio, Texas.
Neil Warnock’s side are undertaking split sessions most days so as to combat the summer heat and get the most out of these critical weeks ahead of the 2019/20 campaign.
And ahead of Saturday evening’s game with San Antonio FC at Toyota Field, the Gaffer gave us his preview of the days and weeks ahead.
“The facility at UTSA (University of Texas, San Antonio) is excellent and we needed a good blow early on to get the tour underway,” the Gaffer told Cardiff City TV.
“We trained from 8.30am on our first morning as it gets very hot towards midday; we’re going to be training early mornings and then early evenings to make sure we get the best out of the lads. You can’t prolong these sessions; they’ve got to be short and sharp.”
A 21-man playing squad has travelled to North America, mixing experience with a sprinkle of youthful exuberance. Youngsters Cameron Coxe, James Waite, Ciaron Brown and Aaron Bolger will vie for playing time over the coming week and a bit, looking to establish themselves amongst City’s elite.
The Gaffer reflected: “Wherever you go, pre-season is hard work. It’s about getting playing minutes on board as well. We’ve brought four young lads with us who have all done well with the first team. They ended last season really well and are happy to be here with us; it’ll be interesting to see how they cope in the coming weeks and whether they’ll become first-team squad members or will need to be loaned out again for further experience.
“You want to play games of course, but [results] are not vital in pre-season. It’s all about getting those minutes under your belt and working hard in training. It's great for us to come out here and have good sessions. We’ve another one tomorrow morning before we head to play San Antonio in the evening kick-off.”
