Dartford players return to pre-season training next week - and manager Ady Pennock makes no apologies for their tough schedule.
Pennock’s pre-seasons are notoriously tough under the watchful eye of fitness coach Neil Withington.
They will include plenty of hill runs but Pennock knows that short-term pain will lead to long-term gains for his squad.
“My pre-seasons are hard but if you look at the muscle injuries, there wasn’t one player who did pre-season with me that then had a muscle injury during the season,” stated Pennock, whose squad report back for pre-season next Thursday.
“My record for injuries in the squad when I am the manager is very good.
“I’m a great believer that pre-season is so important. They do work hard and it’s good, it sets them up for the season nicely.”
The experienced Withington has worked with Pennock at Welling United, Forest Green and Gillingham. He’s a valued and trusted member of the backroom staff.
“Neil is fantastic,” added the Darts boss. “He’s worked with me at four or five clubs now.
“He knows what I like, he doesn’t always agree with what I want to do but that’s what we like.
“He’s absolutely top-drawer, he’s the best around. He’s even doing his masters on physiotherapy now and he’s 60 - he just wants to learn all the time!
“Like myself, he wants things done properly. We’re very lucky to have someone like Neil on board.
“I’ll speak to the coaching staff and we’ll do very similar to what we did last year. We’ll do the hill runs, it’s what I believe in.
“It’s hard graft but you need to get the mileage in early in pre-season.
“The balance needs to be right as the players work as well during the week so we’re talking about part-time players here.”
It’s a tried and trusted method for
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