Boxing clever

ATHLETIC are toughen up with boxing and swimming in pre-season training.

Starting Monday, the squad will be sparring and swimming up to three times a week as manager Lee Johnson puts his fitness programme in place.

The aim is to throw the players into friendly matches relatively fresh, so fans can see them at their best.

“The players will be worked but not killed,” said Johnson, who says boxing and swimming sessions will come before breakfast and be followed by outdoor work, lunch and technical exercises.

Though it will be only five days into training, Athletic’s friendly clash with Romanian outfit Dinamo Bucharest at Leigh Sports Village on Friday night should provide a useful performance gauge for Athletic’s younger players.

“It gives us a chance to look at a couple of trialists and to see where the lads are,” Johnson added. “With Dinamo being of a higher standard it is good sometimes to feel how sharp they are out there on a pitch, instead of just watching on television. It can help set the bar for us.”

Johnson returned to the club this afternoon after spending a week in Antalya, Turkey, at the FIFA U20 World Cup.



ATHLETIC’S game at Colchester United has been brought forward a day to Good Friday, April 18, at the Weston Homes Community Stadium (3pm).