A couple more days of intense training has seen the squad keep their heads down on the pitch and in the gym as they prepared for this morning’s match against SC Farense.
One of the most high-tempo sessions yet occurred on Thursday morning but the players were allowed plenty of rest following that and into the afternoon as they got into gear for the friendly game at the Colina Verde sports-resort complex in Moncarapacho. An ice-bath session kept them cool and helped to alleviate any aches and pains – though they were briefly interrupted by a man with a camera phone.
Away from the complex, Daryl McMahon received an invitation from Tim Sherwood and Mark Robson to watch Aston Villa train in the evening as the Premier League club are based at Lagos, around 60 miles away from the Fleet HQ. This was a great gesture by Villa to support a young, up and coming coach in Daryl.
Our second quiz night – with a €150 prize at stake – got extremely serious with all number of legal challenges to the rules and regulations being raised, due in the most part to the arrival of Fleet’s legal director Stuart Butler-Gallie for the Farense game! It was once again a two-horse race between Sunday’s winners the Borrowers and the gracious runners-up, the Growing Old Gracefully camp. This time the tables were turned, with Steve Gritt assuming the Most Smug Face of the Week award to the annoyance of the losers. And we’ll remain tight-lipped as to which team answered ‘red, white and green’ to a question about naming three types of port!