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Leeds United: Cornwall trip isn’t a jolly-up – Warnock By Phil Hay
Published on Thursday 3 May 2012 10:38
Cornwall was the staging point for Queens Park Rangers’ overwhelming assault on the Championship last season. It is there that Neil Warnock will take Leeds United this summer in the hope of inspiring the same success.
Warnock is a native of Yorkshire but part of his heart resides in Cornwall. He plans to retire to the county when – if – football management loses its appeal but United’s trip south in the warmth of July will be mostly business, with a bit of pleasure thrown in.
More often than not, Warnock has started each of his pre-seasons with a training camp in Cornwall. He did it with QPR in 2010 and again last year as the club prepared for their first season in the Premier League.
Leeds will do likewise this summer, following up a concerted period of fitness work at Thorp Arch with five days in the south of England.
Their manager expects the short tour to set the tone for a hard summer while integrating his new signings with each other and United’s travelling support.
Warnock’s intention is to make the trip as inclusive as possible. Leeds will work by day at Duchy College in the town of Callington, running open training sessions for supporters to watch. Warnock was so intent on involving QPR’s fans last summer that the club published the College’s address on their official website, attempting to maximise the turn-out.
Plan
Leeds are still to confirm final details of the tour or pre-season in general but Warnock’s programme might follow his plan in 2010 when QPR played two non-league sides, Tavistock and Bodmin Town, before finishing with a match against Torquay United – a Football League ground that Leeds last visited for an FA Cup replay in 1955.
A match in Scandanavia is pencilled in for later in the summer and Leeds will stage their one and only home friendly against an as-yet unnamed Premier League side on Friday, August 10, but it is the Cornish experience which Warnock believes will help a squad of countless new signings and unfamiliar faces to find their feet.
Warnock said: “I’ve organised the sunshine to come out in Cornwall for five days. Where we train down there is great. If you consider the number of new players I’m going to bring in, it’s vital that we get together and have that session before we start going all over the show.
“We’ll go down to Cornwall more or less 10 days after we start training and the fans that come with us will be welcome to come and watch us train. You’ll get a lot of people using that as a way to see us train because they’re not really able to do that at Thorp Arch. I like that.
“After the games we’ll get swamped on the pitch by people wanting autographs and so on. There a lot of Leeds fans in Cornwall and in the south of the country generally and it gives them an opportunity to get on board with everything. It’s a great time to get the lads and fans gelling – bring them together early doors.â€
Warnock’s expectation of the turnout in Cornwall could well be exceeded. Leeds traditionally attract some of the largest pre-season followings, in Britain and abroad.
In 2007 a scheduled friendly against Dynamo Dresden was cancelled on the insistence of local police with around 1,000 United supporters planning to attend the fixture. The German authorities were unwilling to manage the crowds.
Warnock’s plan could be described as old-school – a throwback to the days when the summer months watered down the seriousness of professional football. He will run his players hard but plans to afford them the occasional round of golf and time enough to relax.
“We’ll mix is up a little bit,†Warnock said.
“They can play a bit of golf and I’ll personally cook them a barbeque one day. They can go fishing down there too.
“After one of the games we usually go into one of my local pubs and have a buffet, get everyone together again before we head off. I don’t think any of this goes astray, even with all the modern methods.
“I once took a team to China when I was at Sheffield United. We went all the way there and we had an opportunity to go see the Great Wall of China. Two players out of 25 wanted to go to see the Great Wall of China. I find that absolutely amazing.
“All the the rest of them wanted to do was have their bloody earphones on and get their music pumped in. There’s more to life. But whilst it sounds like we’re going to Cornwall for a jolly, trust me – it’ll be ever so hard.
“The lads will train for long sessions during the day and then play at night. It’s not a matter of resting during the day like they normally do before a game. They’ll train just as hard for two or three hours.
“It’s almost like two lots of fitness thrown into one and I’m not too concerned about results. It’s about the whole package.â€
Fitness has been a prime concern of Warnock’s in his short time as manager of Leeds.
The United boss equated the club’s pitiful record in midweek fixtures to a lack of stamina among his players, questioning whether the majority could cope with the strain of two matches in four days. Leeds will work on improving that before their Championship season begins on August 18, a later start than usual due to the Olympic Games in London.
The delayed kick-off will see the strange scenario of Football League clubs completing the opening round of the Carling Cup in the week before their first league game.
Warnock is already considering using a second-string side for United’s tie, saving his full-stength line-up for the Championship.
“It’s difficult this year because we’re in the cup during the midweek before,†he said. “I don’t like to play any of the first team after the previous Saturday (the last Saturday of pre-season). I might get slated by the fans for playing a second team but I want that last week as preparation on the training ground for the first league game.
“I’ll have to see how we are.â€
