Pre-season: What is Really Important?

A good pre-season program can be vital to start the season well. But it's important to remember pre-season is fundamentally a fitness exercise. Every pre-season there are surprise results, but these seldom have an impact when the season starts. There are also plenty of teams who have poor pre-seasons only to start the season in great form. Not to mention teams who are superb in pre-season only to be poor when the season starts.

Teams and their fans must remember it's a fitness exercise and although it's always nice to win this isn't about results. Really what it's about is getting the entire squad ready for the season. Therefore, results and individual performances shouldn't be read into. The really important thing is getting everyone ready and raring to go.

There is also the argument on what a strong pre-season looks like. Personally I think winning every game can be a very dangerous thing. Mainly because it can make you feel unbeatable and complacent. It may be better to have a pre-season full of some mistakes and mixed performances. These things can be worked out in training before the start of the new season.

Plenty of big Premier League sides have drawn and lost games in pre-season only to go on to have great seasons. In contrast to that Spurs had a great pre-season a few years ago only to have a disastrous start when the season started. The same really goes for pre-season tournaments. Most top Premier League teams go away for some pre-season tour. Usually the results are indifferent. But really this idea is more about togetherness and team bonding, than the actual results. It can also be a great opportunity for young players to feel part of it.

Results can never be taken too seriously, because of the amount of substitutions used in pre-season games. Some teams change their entire team at half-time. Clearly the idea is to get the squad fit and ready, but it does make a bit of a mockery of the game. Also this doesn't simulate and real game situation. Once, the league starts teams will only be able to make three changes.

The bottom line here is that pre-season is about getting ready for the season. A few mistakes shouldn't cause panic and a striker who scores 6 goals in a game is not all of a sudden world class. Nothing is won or lost in pre-season. And I don't think anything can really be drawn about the teams involved. A good pre-season includes wins and losses, without picking up injuries.