Midfielder puts in 60mins on Tuesday
Steven Schumacher and the rest of the Fleetwood squad spent Wednesday afternoon taking in the sights of Austria following their 8-0 win against Bad Ischl on Tuesday evening.
The 29-year-old played 60 minutes in the victory in what was his first appearance in the red and white of Fleetwood since the midfielder completed his move from Bury in May.
Schumacher linked up with the rest of the team as they took the cable cars to the top of Hoher Dachstein to take in the sights following a cool down session in the morning.
“This is definitely one of the most picturesque places I have been to, the sights are unbelievable and it shows there are some lovely places in the world.” Schumacher said.
Schumacher, like other members of the squad, has also paid tribute to the facilities and surroundings that Fleetwood have been using during their gruelling pre-season schedule in Obertraun.
“Some of the runs (this week) have felt like we have ran up this mountain, they have been quite hard, but the facilities here in Obertraun and where we have been this week have been different class.
“Everything has been good. It caters for a lot of teams; we aren’t the only team that use these facilities. As you can imagine the food is great, the training has been good, but the food helps because it has give us energy.”
Schumacher started and played 60 minutes against SV Bad Ischl at the OKO-Box Stadium on Tuesday, Fleetwood’s first of two games in Austria, and after a week of mountain runs and tough sessions, the squad had a light cool down session in the morning before relaxing and going up into the mountains – and even changed out of the clubs training gear.
“It has been ok today. The run was a bit more relaxed because of the game last night so it was a bit more of a cool down session and then we had a bit of strength and conditioning work this afternoon and that was ok. It is nice, though, to get a little afternoon and come up here and take in these sights.
“We even managed to get our own gear on, to be fair some of the lad’s gear is that bad that they would probably rather wear the training gear.”
Speaking of the game last night, Schumacher says he was delighted to play his first game since April and insists he is now focused on building up his fitness as he tries to cement a place in the starting line-up when the season starts in three weeks time.
He added: “It was good and I enjoyed it. It was good to play my first game for a little while. It is the first time I have played since the 1 April and I really enjoyed the run out and I was glad to get 60 minutes under my belt. Hopefully I can get a bit stronger, a bit fitter and a bit sharper as each game goes by.
“Everyone’s aim is to be named on the team sheet come the first game of the season. There is a lot of competition for places in the side, I think we have got a strong squad and I am the same as everyone else and want to be play.
“I am looking forward to getting to know all the fans, but especially the Juniors who have took me on as there sponsor and hopefully I can do a few things for them throughout the season.”