Prutton: This is what the Leeds players will be doubting ahead of pre-season
By Amir Mir
David Prutton believes the Leeds players will be doubting how they are going to cope with the fitness levels on the first day of pre-season training.
Thomas Christiansen, who replaced Garry Monk in the Elland Road dugout earlier on this month, will be preparing his team ahead of a gruelling Championship campaign.
Players across the Football League, both in England and Scotland, will be returning to pre-season either this month or at the start of July.
Glasgow giants Rangers, who are managed by Pedro Caixinha, are already two weeks into their pre-season, with their Europa League qualifiers starting in July.
Nonetheless, former Nottingham Forest midfielder, Prutton explained what the players will be feeling and thinking when pre-season starts.
“There’s always a feeling of slight trepidation when the first day of pre-season comes around,” Prutton told the Yorkshire Evening Post.
“Leeds United’s squad will be feeling it today. Players don’t let themselves go during the summer in the way that they used to but you still get that bit of doubt about how you’ll cope when the fitness work starts and how you’ll match up to everyone else.”
It is set to be another rollercoaster ride for the Leeds faithful, who witnessed their team miss out on the play-offs by five points during the previous campaign.
However, since the conclusion of the 2016/17 season, Monk, who was an instrumental figure behind their success, has left the club and joined Championship rivals Middlesbrough.
Former Spain international Christiansen is now tasked with building the Englishmen’s success starting with an away trip to newly-promoted Bolton on August 6.
Christiansen will then get a taste of his first home clash on August 12, when the Whites host Simon Grayson’s Preston North End.
In other Leeds news, Andy Couzens believes the Whites should sign this 32-year-old who left the club five years ago.
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