Manager Alan Archibald believes a week training in the Spanish sun at the world-famous La Manga Club resort has put Partick Thistle in great shape to continue their surge up the Ladbrokes Scottish Premiership table.
While Scotland shivered in sub-zero temperatures and snow last week, the Thistle boss and his first-team squad headed to Murcia, south-east Spain, for some warm-weather training under sunny skies.
As well as being put through their paces on the training ground at La Manga Club, Thistle’s players also had the opportunity to sharpen their match fitness with a friendly against Belgian side Lokeren, where they twice took the lead before eventually losing 5-2.
The Jags, seventh in the table after taking seven points from a possible nine over Christmas, return to action against Formartine United in the William Hill Scottish Cup on Saturday before facing Inverness Caledonian Thistle in the league on January 28, and Archibald is tipping his side to hit the ground running after the mid-season break.
He said: “It was a great week away for the squad. We worked them hard with double sessions each day to get them back up to speed after the week of rest we gave them the other week.
“Everything at La Manga Club was great, from the food to the pitches. We were very well looked after and everything we needed was provided for us.
“It’s worked out really well for us with the way the weather turned out in Glasgow. We didn’t miss a session and it has been really beneficial from that side of things. We knew where we were going to be training and we knew that we’d be on high-quality grass pitches which was a massive plus.
“The last thing we wanted was to give the players the week off and then be scrambling around looking for places to train. At La Manga Club, we had the security of knowing that training was guaranteed which gives us a great platform on which to build when we return to competitive action this week.”
Joining Partick at La Manga Club for warm-weather training breaks last week was a collection of top clubs including Ukrainian league leaders Shakhtar Donetsk, Vfl Wolfsburg and RSC Anderlecht.
La Manga Club’s appeal as a world-class destination for football’s biggest names is stronger than ever, with no fewer than 75 clubs from 19 different countries making their way to the award-winning venue for training camps this winter.
With extensive facilities including eight FIFA-approved grass pitches, La Manga Club has made a name for itself as a first-choice destination for warm-weather football training breaks.
As well as its football amenities, the resort boasts a fully-equipped gym and indoor swimming pool, ideal for recovery sessions; a host of rooms and spaces to cater for tactical meetings, private team dining and a new High Performance Sports Centre, where players can use the most advanced technology possible to study all aspects of their health and training programmes.
Set in 1,400 acres, the award-winning venue is also the official overseas training base of the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) and offers unrivalled facilities as a sports and leisure destination including three 18-hole golf courses, a 28-court tennis centre and a 2,000sqm spa and fitness centre. It also offers the choice of a five-star hotel, four-star serviced apartments and townhouses and more than 20 bars and restaurants.
For more information, go to www.lamangaclub.com.