Everton manager Sam Allardyce embraces chance to recharge in Dubai

Sam Allardyce 16:42 17/02/2018
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  • Everton manager Sam Allardyce (c) overseeing training at Nad Al Sheba (Everton).

    Everton have played 40 games already this season, so taking the opportunity this week to come to Dubai for some warm-weather training will have some clear benefits.

    It is something I have done at every club I have been at over the past 15 to 20 years and I tend to find that trips of this nature prove beneficial for a variety of reasons.

    From a training perspective, it is great to be able to spend time at such a fantastic facility. The gym, the playing surface and the general conditions at our temporary training base are absolutely magnificent.

    When we left England it was minus-one, so if we were training at USM Finch Farm it would be gloves, snoods and tracksuits on and the reality is when it is freezing cold like that the players cannot wait to get back into the warmth as soon as training is over.

    But here the temperature is very reasonable at this time of the year, which means the lads feel comfortable and enjoy working in this environment, to the point where they do not want to stop. They will continue to train for as long as you want them to.

    Having that feel-good factor is important because psychology is everything to a player.

    This is an opportunity for them to recharge their batteries, not just physically but also mentally, which is so crucial in a sport where mental agility and decision-making processes are key to performance.

    A break like this is also particularly beneficial to those players coming back from injury because they can spend large amounts of time doing the right things to recover. They can work in the morning, in the afternoon and evening. Because they don’t have to get home to their families, they can speed up their recovery by the amount of work they do with the rehab lads and the physios.

    Gylfi Sigurdsson (c) training at NAS Sports Complex (Everton).

    Gylfi Sigurdsson (c) training at NAS Sports Complex (Everton).

    Then there is the team-bonding aspect of a trip like this, which should not be underestimated.

    The value of talking together, away from the normal, day-to-day working environment, is perhaps not emphasised as much as it should be. It is about understanding each other as people, not just as footballers, which ultimately leads to stronger relationships.

    Having that time together is especially important for us because the club has experienced lots of changes this season, not just in terms of myself and the backroom staff coming in, but also in the make-up of the squad, with many new players arriving and others moving on.

    Spending time in each other’s company will bring us closer together as a group, which in turn should make us better equipped to face the challenges that lie ahead.

    Of course, despite all the hard work we have put in over the past few days, there are no guarantees in football and certainly not in the Premier League where it is difficult to predict a result from one week to the next.

    All we can do is prepare in the best way possible so the players are raring to go when we face Watford next weekend.

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