“PRE-SEASON IS IMPORTANT TO MEET THE DEMANDS OF THE PREMIER LEAGUE” DAMIAN RODEN

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Director of Performance gives the lowdown on pre-season

2025-07-15T15:30:00.000Z

“PRE-SEASON IS IMPORTANT TO MEET THE DEMANDS OF THE PREMIER LEAGUE” DAMIAN RODEN

Director of Performance gives the lowdown on pre-season

2025-07-15T15:30:00.000Z

Director of Performance gives the lowdown on pre-season

The Clarets touched down in Portugal on Sunday for a week of extensive warm weather training.

With a busy week ahead, Director of Performance Damian Roden gives an insight into what the players have in store, the benefits of a successful pre-season and how the team are preparing for life in the Premier League.

“It's hard to say what the most important part of the season is because all through the season is important, but if you get pre-season right you hit the ground running with all your players in tip top condition. If you get it wrong, you’re potentially ill-prepared without key players, and not ready for the demands that the Premier League brings. Therefore, it’s important to get everyone through as much pre-season as possible. Statistically, if you get through pre-season without any issues as a player, you've got a very good chance of getting through more of the season in terms of withstanding the demands of the training week and the intensity of Premier league games.”

Many teams choose to go abroad for warm weather camps, what benefits do they bring?

“I think the reason clubs’ choose warm weather is because you’re at the training ground for a huge period of the season and when you go away, you can spend more time working on every aspect of a player’s game without distractions. You can control what time the players’ wake up, you can take the need to travel away, control the food that they have, the training content, and the facilities that you have at your disposal at this level have often got a state of the art recovery suite, pools, all the things that will enhance performance and recovery at a time you want them to be physically overloaded. So, that’s often why teams choose to go away.

“Training in the heat places an excessive load on top of the load that’s being placed on the body from the training exposure, but the adaptation you get from it is high. It’s like having a training session and half a training session again, so your body has to work harder to combat the heat, whilst maintaining a high physical output. If you get it right and allow for recovery at the right times, then you’re going to come back in a fitter state than you possibly would do if you were just in a normal environment.

“The professional footballer now compared to a professional ten years ago is a lot more educated on all the different strands of performance, prepare themselves better for pre-season training and have a greater understanding of fitness, strength, recovery, nutrition, sleep etc.”

“PRE-SEASON IS IMPORTANT TO MEET THE DEMANDS OF THE PREMIER LEAGUE” DAMIAN RODEN - Image 1

So, how did Damian and his team prepare for the camp?

“We got promoted from the Championship, so we finished earlier than we would in the Premier League. Therefore, we had a couple of extra weeks off.

“It was important that the players understood after a long, hard season, the priority was rest and recovery, both from a physical but also a mental perspective. We told them to just relax and forget football for two to three weeks. Still do things to keep active such as swimming and cycling but to just switch off and allow your body and mind to reset.

“We knew what the pre-season training schedule looked like from day one, so the players were built up over five weeks leading into that, albeit very, very light to start off with, but the volume and intensity increased towards the start. If they follow that they’ll be able to start at where the manager wants to start pre-season.

“We had an app where they had recommendations of what to eat and what to avoid to make sure they came back at a similar body fat and body weight. They had a strength programme with videos of exercises, sets and reps that they needed to follow and on what days. The same with running exercises. If they followed that it’d just be a home from home if you like, priming them for the type of work they would be doing, gradually progressing each week of the programme throughout the summer so we knew where to start in every aspect.”

Does Damian feel that modern day players are more accustomed to the required aspects of training and recovery to meet the demands of playing professionally?

“Definitely! As I said they are a lot more educated and invested, and we ensure there is both guidance and hands on support throughout the off season to give them the best chance of being prepared.

“The week leading into the first training week of pre-season for example, we identified seven or eight players that we felt needed greater support for the start of pre-season, so we had a camp ourselves for those individuals who were really keen to do that as well. So far that’s worked well to prime and prepare them for the demands of pre-season.”

“PRE-SEASON IS IMPORTANT TO MEET THE DEMANDS OF THE PREMIER LEAGUE” DAMIAN RODEN - Image 2

Often known for being gruelling, the Clarets schedule in Portugal follows the model of training followed throughout the regular campaign but the volume per day is increased to ensure the players are season ready.

“The boss has a distinct model of training, where Saturday to Saturday, in season there’s a set way in which we train. Sundays are normally off if there isn’t a midweek game, Mondays are what we call an adaptation day, so the players get moving again as those that have played are still recovering. Tuesdays are always very small spaces, very anaerobic and more ‘strength’ related. Wednesdays are more what we call extensive, over bigger spaces, and more endurance related. Thursday is largely team organisation in terms of set pieces followed by a structured recovery session because the strength and endurance days are quite demanding. Friday is match preparation and Saturday is the game.

“In pre-season the structure is largely the same but the volume per day increases albeit in a controlled and progressive way, not to overload them too much, too soon, but to provide the exposure that they need to improve their fitness ready to be able to compete and withstand the demands of the first game.”

And with many players at different stages upon return to the Club after the summer break, how does that impact plans?

“It’s challenging sometimes because you've got some players who have had the best part of eight weeks away, some who've played for their international team who return a week later.

“You've also got some players that aren't injured but haven't played a lot of football. So, to be able to cope straight away with the demands would possibly be counterproductive, with too much demand on them, too soon. You’ve sometimes got four or five categories of players that you’ve got to try and integrate into the same team training schedule.

“That said, the boss has got the model so well structured that it allows those players to be integrated back in, fairly simply, because we know the type, intensity and volume of each session throughout the training week leading into a game. We have a specific rehabilitation model for any players that sustain an injury that links into the team training model so we can smoothly integrate any injured players into certain parts of each training day until they are back into full training and games.

“PRE-SEASON IS IMPORTANT TO MEET THE DEMANDS OF THE PREMIER LEAGUE” DAMIAN RODEN - Image 3

“It’s just a matter of because we know what's coming, we know how that individual player, whatever their situation can be integrated back in.

“If there’s no structure it’s more difficult to do that but because there’s a structure that all the staff, the coaches, the medical and performance staff are all aware of, it’s a fairly seamless process.

“There are a couple of different models of working that managers embrace. Some have their own way of working and it’s not a specific well-known model, but the boss uses tactical periodisation, that’s a fairly well-known model. It was devised by a University of Porto professor, so a lot of the Portuguese coaches use this model. It’s something that every coach will have their own version of but that’s the particular model that the manager follows to good effect.”

With the Clarets back in the top-flight, does the pre-season training schedule have to be adapted significantly to best prepare the players for the Premier League?

“Yes and no without sounding confusing. We are preparing this season similar in principle to how we prepared last year… to be a hard-working, high intensity, dynamic team. The difference lies in the gulf physically between the Premier League and the Championship. We were pretty much top of the physical stats last season in the Championship, but when you look at those statistics compared to the Premier League statistics, we wouldn’t be anywhere near the top. In recognising that the boss is preparing the team to be able to improve in those areas and the training mirrors the highest distance per minute, the highest high speed per minute, and the highest sprint distance per minute that the players will face in a Premier League game to prime them for exactly that.

“The boss and Jono [Jonathan Hill] are very diligent with statistics and how to tweak things slightly to get the desired intensity, develop and progress it, to lead into the season and to try and compete and even dominate physically.

“The tactical side of things are fairly similar too albeit being mindful that eight of nine teams that have gone up in the last three years have come back down. There are a couple of styles of play that the boss is working with the players on to ensure the team are not naïve, are adaptable, and resilient, robust and ultimately successful.”

In addition to the physical benefits that come with a good pre-season it’s also an opportune time to encourage team bonding and togetherness?

“PRE-SEASON IS IMPORTANT TO MEET THE DEMANDS OF THE PREMIER LEAGUE” DAMIAN RODEN - Image 4

“Absolutely and if I could pick one thing that stands out in my mind about last season that the boss did immaculately well with, it was mentality. The culture, the work ethic and togetherness he and the coaching staff created was unbelievable bringing the group of players together so quickly and effectively. Last season there were a lot of new faces, and a bit of movement so far this season, but I’m in no doubt this season the result will be the same.

“It’s funny you’re often in pre-match meetings and meetings that we’ll have throughout pre-season and as staff you listen, your part of the meetings, and you want to go out and play for him yourself!”

As Director of Performance at Burnley, Damian’s role involves ensuring all teams at the Club, the men’s, women’s and academy teams are all aligned and following the same philosophy - and it’s a role he enjoys.

“My role when I originally spoke to Alan prior to coming in was that he wanted to have a clear structure from a department point of view, and a clear philosophy throughout. Not only that but he wanted that alignment with the women’s team and the academy. So, whilst my primary role is to oversee the Medical & Performance department and all the disciplines within that, Alan’s desire is he wants a Club approach. That philosophy and identity, I suppose in the sense of the ‘Burnley way.’ That’s my overarching role.

“I really enjoy it! I’ve been really fortunate in my career. I’ve worked in the Premier League at Bolton, Blackburn, Man City and Stoke, experienced life in other countries with Seattle and Anderlecht and also worked for my home nation Wales. One thing that stands out about this area I think is the family atmosphere (similar to local rivals Bolton & Blackburn).

“Burnley’s got a real feeling of togetherness. Everybody’s in it for the right reasons, there’s a connection with the fans and the local area. There’s a lot of local people working for the Club who want the Club to do well, it’s just a nice environment. There are challenging times and I’m sure this season will also put us all to the test, but it makes you want to do well for the community. Within weeks of starting, you’re a fan. Everybody’s working towards the same goal and working together.”

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