Planning a Pre-Season Trip Overseas.

BRISTOL CITY: Manager Steve Cotterill planning pre-season trip overseas
By a_stockhausen |

Bristol City manager Steve Cotterill will again take his players away on an overseas pre-season tour this summer.
Preparations for life in the Championship are already well underway following promotion and City's manager has been working long hours in recent weeks to devise a tailor-made pre-season programme for his League One championship-winning squad.

He has spent the past few days at an unnamed destination on the Continent checking out facilities and putting in place plans for a two-week trip during July as he seeks to replicate City's preparations in 2014.
Cotterill took his players to South Africa and Botswana for a fortnight last summer and that trip, initiated by Robins owner Steve Lansdown, helped forge the team spirit that proved such an integral part of last season's phenomenal success.

Cotterill is hoping to reproduce something similar this summer, albeit at a location rather closer to home.
He told the Bristol Post: "Last year's pre-season tour went unbelievably well and the boys got a lot out of it. When you have a successful formula that works for you, you like to try and stick with it.
"I've been away this last weekend looking at places and trying to arrange something for us during pre-season.
"I like taking the players away to prepare and we will probably be going somewhere for a couple of weeks.
"It is all still in the planning stage and I don't want to say too much more about it until we have sorted it all out and have the final plans in place."

City have already announced plans to play local non-League sides Brislington and Keynsham Town in their annual community match, which will be staged at Ironmould Lane on Sunday, July 5 this year. Cotterill is engaged in talks with another club regarding a second friendly fixture against what he describes as "stronger opposition."
He will then take his players away on tour for two weeks before returning towards the end of July to complete preparations for the big Championship kick-off on August 8.

Thorough in his planning, Cotterill has left no stone unturned in his quest to stage the perfect tour and he has spent several days scouting hotels, pitches and training facilities.
He said: "You want everything to be just right when you get there and it is important you do your research now so you avoid problems further down the line. I've been looking at hotels, gymnasiums and pitches.
"I've been checking out the weather and the food and even what the clientele are like at various places."
Cotterill revealed that the tour destination is near enough for any new signings made during that two weeks in July to be able to fly out and join up with the squad to help to foster team spirit.
He said: "Things will be a bit different this summer and we will not be going so far.
"I don't se us making a raft of signings early on like we did last year, but any lads who do come on board while we are away should be able to join us quite easily."

Where do you think, Germany, Spain, Northern Europe, Ireland, Italy, it's exciting getting ready for it all to start again.
No early signings but close enough for new players to join up with the squad, it worked last year, all bodes well for the Championship..

http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/BRISTO...planning-pre/story-26524562-detail/story.html