RANGERS’ Head of Performance, Jack Ade, says the intensity will be stepped-up for the squad as they spend this week in Germany for a pre-season training camp.
A gruelling running programme has been reintroduced by Michael Beale and his coaching staff as they prepare the squad for the upcoming season.
Ade sat down exclusively with RangersTV at the start of the camp to outline what the week will look like for the players.
He said: “The level of work for the guys that were in last week will step up, some of them will be reintegrated a little slower this week having had time off after international duty, but it is just a chance to build on the fitness levels.
“We are doing some double sessions which we did last week and, in the afternoon, we will do some isolated running. The players do five three-minute runs which is a running programme the manager and the players are familiar with from a couple of years ago and obviously it brought them good success.
Ade says the pre-season period is essential to build the foundations for the squad ahead of a demanding start to the season with both Scottish Premiership action and UEFA Champions League qualifiers.
He continued: “It is absolutely massive, as a coaching staff we came in and had a short period after the World Cup break and we were straight into game after game. We have new players coming from different leagues, different playing styles so this time allows us to get them to understand the demands of what the manager is going to ask and them being able to tolerate the training and the multiple matches this period is essential to build those foundations.
“From a physical point of view, this week is just about building up their overall volume of work. We are also progressing the intensity of the football drills, so we tend to start with a lot of players involved in drills and as we progress through the pre-season the numbers become slightly smaller in drills, and it becomes a little bit more intense.
“We are going to build upon some of the messages the manager is working on but really it goes hand in hand. What the manager is working on technically is very much working alongside the physical programme. It is understanding the game plan and being able to execute it, at a high physical level. The manager will always talk about clarity of message, understanding what the game plan is and then being able to execute it so that is the most important thing really.”