My Hearts pre seasons were brutal but current crop are back too early to be properly rested - Ryan Stevenson

There are times when I feel sorry for players these days as the summer break lasts about five minutes and they are back to work. But then I remember what pre-season was like when I started out and any sympathy goes right out of the window.

Current players hit the ground running when they report back – they don’t need to chase a minibus to get up to speed. The Hearts squad will check in today ahead of the new season in Scotland and in Europe. And it is changed days from my time. Pre-season used to cause a sense of dread about three weeks before you were due back.

When I was at Hearts we’d have wee Billy Brown sending us up and down the Italian mountains. He'd be standing there with the sun block on his face, looking like an Aussie cricketer, while the sweat was lashing off us.

But the worst one I can remember was when I was a kid at Chelsea. Jim Duffy was taking us for pre-season and the minivan arrived at Richmond Park, which is massive. He just said, “out you get”. I was expecting a gentle jog as a warm-up, but instead he made us chase the bus! Every time we got close he’d put the foot down, it was a nightmare.

Back in the day players would come back out of shape and it would be the bin bags on and running until you threw up. There were always some guys who needed it more than most. When I was at Hearts, I always knew the likes of Lee Wallace would be at the front and I used to get serious about three weeks out because I wasn’t going to be left behind.

But I remember guys like Maruis Zaliukas used to saunter in and he’d be plodding away at the back. I was terrified of Jim Jefferies and knew if I was out of condition he’d give me a right rollocking. I also knew there would be new signings coming in and I didn’t want to