Middlesbrough’s new coach, Rob Edwards, will utilize this week’s warm weather training camp in Portugal as both a team bonding exercise and an opportunity to improve fitness. While there are no new faces in the Boro group traveling out to Portugal, the manager is still getting to know his players after arriving on Teesside late last month.
Boro will spend a week in the Algarve, concluding with a behind-the-scenes friendly next Saturday. However, Edwards will focus his efforts on the training pitch as he seeks to grasp the squad dynamics.
Warm-weather travels are nothing new for Edwards, who used multiple mid-season breaks to take his squad abroad while at Luton. The Hatters traveled to Dubai for the Qatar World Cup, and Edwards saw it as an opportunity to strengthen group connections.
Sky has reduced the price of its Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle ahead of the 2025/26 season, saving customers £192 while providing access to almost 1,400 live matches from the Premier League, EFL, and other leagues. Sky will broadcast at least 215 live Premier League games next season, an increase of up to 100.
“Going in during the World Cup break was very useful,” he told Coaches’ Voice. “Having so much time to work with a new team in the middle of the season was quite unusual, but it provided us with an excellent opportunity to establish some ties.
“We got away for a week, to do some warm-weather training in Dubai, but we were also able to work on that togetherness and understanding.”
He took advantage of a Premier League schedule break in 2024 to return Luton to the UAE, where ‘togetherness’ was once again the buzzword. “We can go and get a little bit of warm weather, which is nice,” he remarked. “We’ll get some good training in, get a little bit more togetherness and time there as well.” Boro return to Teesside a week today (July 13) to work on their series of pre-season friendlies before the season kicks off against Swansea City on August 9.
Leave a Reply