Football Struber impressed by 'motivation' of his City squad

GERHARD Struber said he has never worked with a group of players more motivated than the Bristol City squad, as the Robins' preseason training camp drew to a close at the weekend.

- Dan CARTER

The 48-year-old, who was most recently Koln boss, is preparing for his first campaign as City head coach, having been named as Liam Manning's successor last month. The squad and Struber returned to the High Performance Centre a little more than a fortnight ago for preseason testing, before spending a week training at the Failand base. However, for the last week, the players and coaching staff had a change of scenery as they enjoyed a warm-weather training camp in the Algarve.

Of course, it certainly won't have been a holiday for Struber's players as they both physically and tactically get up to speed for the upcoming season. As a result of the change of head coach, there will have been plenty of new ideas and principles to adapt to, but the City boss has been inspired by what he's seen so far.

Speaking to the Robins' media team, Struber said: “It’s a very interesting week. I had the big chance to come in touch with my players and my staff, and I think we used the time in a very good way.