Fri 07 Jul - Posted in News
Craig Bryson is fully expecting Derby County to be more ‘effective’ during this coming season.
The Rams are currently gearing up for the start of the 2017/18 Sky Bet Championship campaign after reporting back for pre-season training last week.
Gary Rowett’s side have spent the past five days in Tenerife at a warm-weather training camp and will return home tomorrow.
Bryson feels the Rams will prove to be a different proposition for their opponents this term.
The squad got a taster of Rowett ideas for the future towards the end of last season, following his appointment in March.
On top of that, Bryson feels the work Derby have got through over the first week of pre-season has further reinforced the message of how the manager wants his side to play.
Rowett made it clear back in May he wanted a different look and feel to his squad – both in terms of personnel and also the mentality of the group.
Speaking to RamsTV in Tenerife, Bryson can clearly see the Derby boss is making his mark.
He said: “I think we’ll see a wee bit of a different Derby County this season.
“A lot of times over the past few seasons we’ve been regarded as just a passing and possession side. I think we will play more effective football and get into the final third a bit quicker this year.
“That might include a few different formations depending on who we are playing and stuff like that.
“The manager wants us to work extremely hard which is why we are doing all this tough work in pre-season right now.”
He added: “When a manager comes in, he will have his own ideas and maybe want to play differently. He has to make big decisions on what he wants from the team and how he wants to play.
“Some might not fit into the system he wants to play or he may not rate them as players; there are so many things that go along with it and you have to back him.
“When you look at what the manager did at Burton and Birmingham, he has all the makings of being a success here.He came in towards the end of last season and he has made some changes to the squad.
“A few players have gone out and some have come in, and I am sure there will be more before the end of the transfer window - aimed at trying to get this club promoted.”
The training camp in Tenerife has entailed double sessions every day this week in the Canary Islands heat.
Bryson is experiencing his fifteenth pre-season as a professional footballer and knows exactly what this time of the year is all about.
As well as putting in the physical and tactical work, it is also about forming a strong team spirit to take into the season.
He said: “It’s been good this week – obviously we are out here to work hard and get the team spirit going, which can take you so far in the league.
“You know beforehand exactly what you’re coming out here for and what you want to achieve.
“Ultimately, you maybe don’t feel the benefit when you’re here and training so hard and the legs are sore. The work we’re doing now will help us greatly in the season coming up, we know that.”
He added: “We all did our work over the summer to stay in shape and we all got good scores in the fitness testing. It has probably allowed all the staff to modify the pre-season training a little bit to help us even more as the footballs have been out straight away.
“I think football over the past six years has really changed from the strength and conditioning side, and teams are looking to be that one step ahead of everybody else.
“In the Championship especially the teams are so evenly matched, so if you can get that extra percentage then that can play a part.”
