We caught up with right sided player Wes Burns on Friday afternoon at the club’s European training complex in Portugal.
The Welshman has been ever present since head coach Joey Barton stepped through the door last June, and was rewarded for his hard work at the Fans’ Awards Evening – picking up three awards in the process.
The 24-year-old sat down in Vilamoura to give us an update on his pre-season, the week in Portugal, and a quick preview ahead of Town’s second pre-season fixture of the campaign.
Here is what Wes had to say:
On looking ahead to Saturday’s match…
“In pre-season it’s important to keep getting minutes into your legs and keep picking up those 45 minutes to 60 minutes when a game comes around to help us get back to where we want to be.
“We’ve put in a lot of hard work this week, so it will be good to top off the week with the match on Saturday. We are getting back into the flow of things, but we know there’s still lots of work to do.
“I got minutes against Wrexham and I felt stiff after the game, but that is normal for the first game back in pre-season. It’s all mileage in the legs at the end of the day.
On positioning for the new campaign…
“I have already had a chat with the manager [Joey Barton] this pre-season about my positioning and it looks like it will be a right-back / ring-wing back job depending on formation, but he has always mentioned that if need be, I might be in a right wing position but ultimately it depends what the manager wants to do on the day of the game.
“I think it’s great to have that flexibility to be able to play in a number of positions on the pitch.”
On pre-season so far…
“The first day was all about testing so each player knew where they stood, but over time it has been relentless with bodies hanging on by a thread, but that is just pre-season for you.
“Being away always helps. We’ve had mostly sunshine but have had the odd bit of rain but it has hit 33 degrees which does make it hard, especially in the heat when you are losing a lot of body weight through sweat. It’s all about recovery.
“Recovery is massive and it really does help when you have a great team behind you. They’ve helped us with our hydration and massages and the physio work that Liam does with our bumps and niggles. They are doing their best to get us out training and keep us going throughout this short week, and throughout the season.”
On the settling in of the new lads…
“The new lads have settled in really well and with us knowing Lewie, that one was easy, but with Jordan [Rossiter], Couttsy [Paul Coutts], Danny Andrew and Josh Morris are fantastic lads, they are vibrant players and are showcasing their skills well on a daily basis.
“They fit into the group and those players who have come in match the style of play that we want produce, so it’s ideal really."
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