On Day four the RedTV team spoke this afternoon with goalkeeper Joe Lewis and this evening with Assistant Manager Tony Docherty. Another glorious day in South of Ireland as the players continue their hard work.
As always RedTV is the best place to enjoy these interviews in full.
At the moment there are also features with Derek McInnes, Graeme Shinnie, Michael Devlin, Lewis Ferguson and Dean Campbell, with more to come as the week progresses.
A reminder that Saturday’s friendly against Cobh Ramblers will now take place at the Dons training facility at Fota Island. Kick off remains at 2pm and entry is €10 for adults and €5 for U18s/OAP’s.
Joe Lewis
“Pre-season is hard work but it is a great facility here. We are staying in nice houses right next to the pitches. There is a good gym, a pool and a lovely hotel for us to get our food. There even golf carts to help us get about the place.
“Pre-season is not particularly enjoyable but it is something that needs to be done. “It was a great way to finish the season. The team post split had three wins and two draws, which was the best results of all in the teams in the top six. It was a great way to end the season and hopefully we can carry that momentum on.
“For me personally I picked up my injury but once I got back into the team I felt I picked up my form again and I finished the season really strongly.
“The lads have come back really fit, as fit as I have seen any group of players come back. So hopefully we can kick onto the next level and be even stronger next season.
“These weeks are perfect for integrating the new players. It has worked out well that our week away was also our first week of pre-season. It is also good to see some of the young lads getting involved with the first team squad.
“On Saturday it is quite early to be playing a game, so I would imagine there will be quite a few changes to give everyone a run out and to get some minutes into everyone. It should be a good test against a side who are in the middle of their season.
“I have played at Turf Moor a few times. It is a good tie for us and I am looking forward to the game. It is a difficult tie, there were certainly easier ones out there, but we have got to back ourselves. There is quite a long way to go before then and we have quite a bit of training to get done and a number of games.
“Hopefully we can take the confidence from the end of last season and start the campaign strongly.
“I am sure the manager will be looking to bring in a few more players to add to the strength that we have got already in this squad.
“I don’t really set myself any personal targets in terms of clean sheets and stuff like that. People look to how many clean sheets a keeper has, but it does not always signify how well a goalkeeper has been played. You can play well and conceded goals. You can have shaky games and keep clean sheets. There are a lot of variables.
“But we will set goals as a team and identify what the targets are.
“I will also sit down with Gordon Marshall and we will maybe not statistical targets, but will identify areas that we can work on, things we will try and do slightly differently this season, tweak one or two things in training. You always have to keep looking to improve.”
RedTV | to watch the interview with Joe in full please click here
Tony Docherty
“We have had a slightly longer break this year which has been great. The players have had a longer rest but now we can do a proper pre-season. We can give them hard work to make sure they are ready for the games coming up. It is important that they work hard but I am very pleased with the effort that has been put in.
“This week is the most important week of the season.
“The whole benefit of being away is not just about the training. It is about building that team spirit. When the boys are not training they get to spend a lot of time together. It is important we get that side right as well.
“When we were drawn against Burnley the initial though is fantastic, bring it on. What a game to be involved in. There is a real carrot for all the boys in terms of motivation as everyone will want to be involved. It is a great start for us with the Rangers game as well. That all helps with pushing them pre-season, to make sure they are the fittest footballers they can be so we are competitive and can go and win these games.
“We work under the radar. We know what we can do. We are confident in our abilities to get the job done. It is no different this season. Yes there is more of a challenge, but we are up for a challenge, we always are.
“There will be more focus on the league this season but that is great for our players as well. It gives them more exposure and also the club.”
RedTV | to watch the interview with Tony in full please click here
