This year’s Wolves summer training camp came to an end with a 1-1 draw in a friendly with 1. FC Union Berlin. Head coach Oliver Glasner and his troops spent nine days in the picturesque surroundings of Schladming in Austria, building up their fitness levels and working on their ball skills – particularly individual ones – via various exercises. One-on-ones were a particular focus of the camp, but it was also clear for all to see that Glasner and his staff recognised the importance of the players having some fun. The Green-and-Whites made plenty of progress throughout the nine days, and as such the head coach took a very positive view of the training camp in Steiermark.
"Up to the limit in a lot of respects"
"Overall we’re very satisfied. We got the players to push their boundaries both physically and mentally, which is what we wanted to do. How the players react to these situations and still manage to enjoy themselves, even though they were at the limit in a lot of respects, gives me a sense of confidence," said the VfL head coach, who was also quick to highlight how much progress the team had made. "The players are getting things into perspective more and more and they know why we are doing these exercises. Each one has something to do with how we want to play. The commitment that the players have shown, and how they go about things, makes me very satisfied."
"Players have the determination to achieve things"
The 44-year-old Austrian knew full well that things would not be absolutely perfect right from the off once he joined the Green-and-Whites. "It was clear that not everything would go to plan straight away. The players have the determination to achieve these things, because they too can see that this increases the likelihood of success, so we need to stick at it." Being able to make use of the full squad other than Ignacio Camacho and Daniel Ginczek has made things easier for Glasner, particularly with things hotting up over the coming weeks. The final pre-season friendly will see them team face OGC Nice (Saturday 3 August, 15:00), followed by the start of the DFB Cup campaign at Hallescher FC (Monday 12 August, 18.30) and of the Bundesliga season at home to 1. FC Köln (Saturday 17 August, 15.30). "It is a very positive aspect that all the players who had a few aches and pains are now out on the pitch with us and that Marcel Tisserand is back in the squad as well," said Glasner.
