Mark Hughes is in Germany with the senior squad, but Glyn is with the reserves at Carrington as they prepare for the first pre-season engagement, a friendly at Hyde United on Wednesday, July 15th.
So, at a time of year when schools are about to break up and holidaymakers head for the coasts and the airports, is being back at the training ground the happiest time of year for Glyn?
“I love it,” he declares. “The seasons are getting longer, and at the end you are looking forward to your break but it’s not too long before you get your enthusiasm back and you are raring to go.”
Paul Dickov once told mcfc.co.uk that the start of pre-season used to consist of running around until players began to collapse , but while Glyn also has bad memories of the old days he’s keen to point out how the modern approach is much better for players.
“We get the ball out a lot earlier now. It used to be maybe a week or even two weeks before you did, you would not even see a ball. It would just be running and fitness work, but there is a lot more science in training now, players wear heart monitors and we are not going to kill them! Players would be flogged in the old days, you would struggle get up and down the stairs because you would be that stiff.
“It’s not like that anymore, it’s a lot more gradual and we are looking to peak at the right time. I might still be playing now if I could have this kind of pre-season! Last season took its toll on some players, so we are making sure they are ready when the time comes.”
With the senior squad away in Germany, Glyn also sees this as a good time for City’s younger players to take advantages of the facilities at an ever changing and improving Carrington training complex.
“There have been big improvements since we first came through the door here. We keep raising the bar, the standards are getting higher and higher. We are looking at the football side of things, the player experience and we will keep pushing them further. If they have a great environment to work in, they have no excuses and here they have everything they need to succeed,” he concludes.
