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AUSTRIA DIARY - DAY 2

Posted on: Mon 26 Jul 2010

A Load of Balls!

By Paul Chialton in Bad Bleiberg

Day two in our Austrian haven, and the first chance the lads have had to get out on the training pitch and down to work, not without its hazards it must be said!

A brisk walk from the hotel and a dodge across the area's main highway and we find ourselves at the hotel's training facilities. A nice stroll for the players, who take in the stunning panoramic views and fresh Alpine air along the way.

Not so for those of us on kit duties. Light as modern-day footballs are 20 of them on your back in the Sun gets a bit of a sweat on!

Collecting them in at the end is a job that may require a risk assessment next time, after Mike Pollitt's bag-bound ball ricochets in off our media-man's thumb - ouch indeed!

Thankfully the rest of the squad remain injury-free through a double-session, with Graeme Jones' booming north-eastern growl waking the lads up and sending seismic readings through the roof on the other side of the Alps!

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Hugo Rodallega's boyish, playful antics are a joy to watch. The Colombian clearly enjoying being back in action, but also showing his predatory instincts too, firing home sweetly on a number of occasions and forcing new 'keeper Ali Al Habsi into some fine saves.

The preparations are going very smoothly ahead of Monday afternoon's first friendly match against local side NK Rudar Velenje. A match preview, report and all post-match reactions will all be available on latics.tv! (Commercial plug over!)

Afterwards Inaki Bergarra, accused of not throwing his weight in bringing kit over from the hotel, answers the jibes from the rest of the coaching staff by slinging a kit-bag over his shoulder in a very 'I can handle it' manner.

Later evidence found the bag lacking anything likely to cause a back-strain!

After a hard-day's work the team are greeted by the arrival of the club's web-wizard who, with camera equipment in-tow and an emergency toothbrush for our hapless blogger, completes the first leg of his 2600-mile round trip.

From Orrell to Austria…via Stanstead and a cute little red car, our camera man's ready to bring you all the latest images and footage of the boys in action. Here's hoping the duty-free contents don't effect the quality of forthcoming footage!

The start of the week then brings with it two special occasions; the team's first match during their stay and the re-opening of the local Spar supermarket (used in the lightest of terms). The latter an indication of Bad Bleiberg's isolated location on the map!

Watch this space for all the news surrounding Latics' first friendly in Austria, the latest interviews and Spar's grand opening!