Aston Villa legend Gabby Agbonlahor has recalled how much he hated the pre-season training during his active career, News About Nigeria reports.
In a recent media chat with talkSPORT, the former English forward revealed how much he dreaded pre-seasons, adding that he would ban it if had the powers to do so.
“Pre-season was traumatic. I dreaded it because I knew I was coming back and it would be just running, blisters and more running.
“You’d run in the morning session then have lunch. The older you get; you stiffen up and then you start at 2 pm and run again. When you’ve stiffened up in recovery mode, you’ve got to run again. Your body is just in pain.
“I dreaded pre-season, honestly. We were like marathon runners by the end. I hated it – hated it.
“Remember the Tottenham players last summer? They looked like they were going to have heart attacks during their pre-season training in Asia. The running didn’t work for them anyway!
“You go away and sometimes the conditions are so hot and very dangerous. I remember Hong Kong and it was so hot and humid. It was dangerous. You had to change your top every 20 minutes because it was soaking. You were losing a lot of water.
“One person was sick. Ross McCormack threw up on Nathan Baker. He was sick on him while running.”
The 37-year-old ended his professional career with Villa in 2018, making 341 appearances, scoring 76 goals with 34 assists. He also earned three international caps, representing the three Lions of England.
Recall that English clubs have returned to training grounds ahead of the pre-season campaign that starts this month.
