Fitness coach Antonio Dias: Wolves's pre-season smoother this year

The players are gearing up for the 2018/19 campaign in what will be boss Nuno Espirito Santo’s second season in charge.

And the fact most of the players and staff have been together for a year has helped them to hit the ground running back at training.

Dias said: “It is much more smoother this summer because we know each other.

“The people know how we work, and we know also how they work, and we buy in together much better. I think that way it has been much smoother to prepare these first days.”

Dias is part of the coaching squad helping to prepare the players ahead of their Premier League return. During their summer break, he gave them a fitness programme to stick by so they could return in good shape.

Now the players will be cranking up the tempo as the summer progresses.

“It is a fantastic feeling to be back,” said Dias. “We are preparing ourselves for a fantastic season.”

Asked if pre-season this summer is easier than the last, Dias said: “What we are thinking about is the challenge ahead. We have got a fantastic challenge upcoming for this new season and all this to keep challenging our players to keep working and keep improving. So one thing is true that we know them (the players). That makes it better for us to work with them but in terms of the challenge, I can’t say it is easier, but it is a next step in the way we are trying to think it from the beginning since we have arrived here.”

The players will be embarking on fitness drills where Dias will be monitoring how they are performing.

“What concerns me is getting the players enough fit to play as the gaffer wants, in terms of demanding and also maybe some adjustments of what to expect between the Championship and the Premier League,” said Dias. “And to get the team playing football and the players being ready to perform as the gaffer wants them, to perform throughout pre-season and be able to build up his style of play and our game.”