With the new season upon us, pre-season training is well and truly underway. Yesterday, I made the trip to Racing Club Fantana's training complex to take a closer look at squad as they prepare for what is set to be a dramatic season.

As I arrived, the session was well underway. The issue of fitness will always dominate pre-season training, and manager Micallef's approach is no different. Afterwards, I spoke to him, and he said "Ollie, I know what these boys have in their locker football wise. But in the close season these lockers get filled up with rubbish, and our fitness work is our equivalent to spring cleaning and getting all that rubbish out of them".

Analogy aside, the forest run look gruelling and tiresome, but the players took it on the chin and put in some impressive displays. A breathless Lee Stimpson said "It's hard...but worth the effort. We want to be ready for the first minute of the season, and we know what's required of us"

The camaraderie of the team is evident, but Micallef knows what he wants "We're all mates, and we'll be down the boozer afterwards with a pint of the numbers. But there's a time and a place for the banter, and when we're doing the drills, then our minds have gotta be on it. The lads know what I expect of them". Indeed, Micallef rules with an iron fist and his no-nonsense techniques may be firm, but they are fair.

It's no secret that Racing want to win Division 2 this season, but they also want to do it in the right way. "We want to win, but we want to win in style with attractive football" mused Micallef. "I've been raised to play football a certain way, and I want that to be shown through the team. Don't get me wrong, i'll take an ugly 1-0 all day, but I want every player to be capable and sharp on the ball".

This mentality of short sharp passing was demonstrated in the next exercises, with crisp passing being the order of the day. After that came a short five a side game, with the focus once again on the passing and movement.

The team looks to be shaping up nicely, with the spirit rising along with the teams fitness. With rumours of friendlies soon to be announced, the future looks very exciting for Racing Club Fantana and their fans. I was certainly impressed by the set-up and the fluidity that this team currently have.

By Oliver Codpiece