Glen Driscoll - First team fitness

[Outfox the Fox]

I see Glen Driscoll's job title is 'First Team Fitness Coach'.  That would appear to be a step down from his previous job at Celtic, as 'Head of Performance'; with Matt Reeves continuing at the KP, as 'Head of Fitness & Conditioning'.  However, its not as strange as it seems.  I was talking to a journo colleague at the (Glasgow) Herald, who said Driscoll's main role at Celtic Park, was to bring the fitness levels of the squad up.  When Rodgers took over there, he thought the First Team squad's overall fitness was way down on what it should be and tasked Driscoll to work specifically with them to improve it.

 

Quotes from Rodgers, seem to say, he feels the CIty squad need to drastically improve fitness levels, if they are to generally match other Premier teams - and play his 'pressing game'. 

[urban.spaceman]

I don’t know if our fitness levels are all that bad, though I have seen quite a bit about Claude’s training sessions not being intense enough and the players were very unhappy about that as they want to play with high intensity.

 

Everything I’ve read from Brendan so far has made me very excited for next season. 

[Jaspa]

Rodgers has been working with him at Chelsea, Swansea, Liverpool & Celtic - they clearly like to work as a team and if you think back to all of our most successful managers of the last 20years; O'Neill with John Robertson, Sven with Tord Grip , Pearson with Walsh & Shakey, and even Ranieri had Paolo Benetti & the fitness coach Andrea Azzalin

Edited 19 March 2019 by Jaspa

[stripeyfox]

 

Which one is he?

[urban.spaceman]

1 hour ago, Jaspa said:

Rodgers has been working with him at Chelsea, Swansea, Liverpool & Celtic - they clearly like to work as a team and if you think back to all of our most successful managers of the last 20years; O'Neill with John Robertson, Sven with Tord Grip , Pearson with Walsh & Shakey, and even Ranieri had Paolo Benetti & the fitness coach Andrea Azzalin

Weird how we never really saw much of them at all. 

[Babylon]

21 minutes ago, urban.spaceman said:

Weird how we never really saw much of them at all. 

Thought they were in the OS picture galleries quite a bit?

[Fox92]

50 minutes ago, stripeyfox said:

 

Which one is he?

How nice!

[Dan LCFC]

2 hours ago, urban.spaceman said:

I don’t know if our fitness levels are all that bad, though I have seen quite a bit about Claude’s training sessions not being intense enough and the players were very unhappy about that as they want to play with high intensity.

 

Everything I’ve read from Brendan so far has made me very excited for next season. 

That's the gist of it for me too. I've not felt like this in a while.

[foxinsocks]

I have thought for some time that our fitness was way below previous seasons. We dont attack in numbers coz we have to run back when it breaks down. When we played liverpool at home this season it was clear we were way behind them fitnesswise

[Clever Fox]

46 minutes ago, foxinsocks said:

I have thought for some time that our fitness was way below previous seasons. We dont attack in numbers coz we have to run back when it breaks down. When we played liverpool at home this season it was clear we were way behind them fitnesswise

I'll never forgive Ranieri for disposing of the Sports Science person. ( I can't remember his name ). 

I'm even more annoyed with the Club for allowing it to happen.

 

We definitely haven't been as fit since our Title winning season and it's something in passionate about, as it's the the imaginary 12th man on match days and gives the  team the added edge.

[st albans fox]

2 hours ago, Clever Fox said:

I'll never forgive Ranieri for disposing of the Sports Science person. ( I can't remember his name ). 

I'm even more annoyed with the Club for allowing it to happen.

 

We definitely haven't been as fit since our Title winning season and it's something in passionate about, as it's the the imaginary 12th man on match days and gives the  team the added edge.

Wasn’t it the  psychologist, Ken ??.

[Legend_in_blue]

The up turn in our performances is down to the team looker far sharper imo.  There's no way we would have lasted the course against Burnley in a similar situation earlier in the season under Puel.  No chance.

 

The players look sharper, faster, more alert - you can put it down to trying to impress a new manager but as I've said before, in terms of man management, Puel was poor.  I'd even suggest Rodgers could have got more out of the likes of Iborra and Silva tbf.

[Muzzy_Larsson]

Rodgers will have hard data that tells him the current team isn't fit enough, he wouldn't have said that without the evidence to back it up.

 

He was a stickler for fitness and analystics to prove it out at Celtic and that comes from someone on the inside.

 

The difference a year later from when he arrived in our fitness was night and day.  Apparently the numbers for the slowest/unfittest (sic) person a year later were better than the fittest person at the club the year previous.

 

[Clever Fox]

20 hours ago, st albans fox said:

Wasn’t it the  psychologist, Ken ??.

You could well be right or maybe they're the same person. But it thought I read that Ranieri dismissed the Sports Science because he doesn't believe in it.

 

Either way he shouldn't have been allowed get away with it.

[Captain...]

42 minutes ago, Clever Fox said:

You could well be right or maybe they're the same person. But it thought I read that Ranieri dismissed the Sports Science because he doesn't believe in it.

 

Either way he shouldn't have been allowed get away with it.

I remember a report saying he had stopped listening to the advise of the sports science team, but it was fairly unsubstantiated so possibly bollocks.

[Bob Hazels shorts]

21 hours ago, st albans fox said:

Wasn’t it the  psychologist, Ken ??.

 

Sousa got rid of the sports scientists, many found their way back to Loughborough Uni, I'd spoken to several there.

 

Never heard or seen any mention of sports scientist moving on under Claudios reign post winning the league, fair to assume they were here when we won it.

 

Ken Way the sports psychologist was indeed moved on after winning the title. Again I have spoken in depth to him (itk!) was only part time and cost bugger all basically, he was well put out. Incidental only quoted one player 'Mendy' couldn't understand that signing.

 

Lots about Ken on-line, not a great move booting him out