Sheffield Wednesday: Trial by video as tough taskmaster Jos Luhukay films the Owls pre-season pain
The Dutchman is putting Wednesday’s players through their paces in gruelling double training sessions in soaring temperatures.
Luhukay, embarking on his first pre-season as Owls boss, is famous for his meticulous levels of detail and preparation.
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Hide AdSo it is not a major surprise that the former Hertha Berlin and Borussia Monchengladbach chief has ordered all their training sessions to be filmed.
Luhukay, who was appointed Wednesday manager in January, said: “I think it (video analysis) is very important.
“When you have a game or training, maybe you have not understood the situation in your head. When you see the situations back, maybe the eyes open. You see what was good, and not so good.
“We will not criticise the players. We will not be negative. We will help players so when they make mistakes, they don’t make them again. That is why we are helping them.
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Hide Ad“Video work is not new, but everyone has their own philosophy.”
When the squad are not working up a sweat in the heat or reviewing footage from training sessions this week, the team are hitting the gym at their North West training base.
It promises to be a tough ride.
Luhukay, renowned in Germany as an expert in leading teams to the Bundesliga, believes a strenuous, demanding pre-season can provide the perfect foundations for their Championship campaign, which kicks off in just over five weeks time with a trip to league new boys Wigan Athletic.
Something else Luhukay, renowned in Germany as an expert in leading teams to the Bundesliga, is also big on is discipline.
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Hide AdNicknamed the ‘little general’, Luhukay said: “At Augsburg, two players came late to a meeting. They were late by two minutes so I said to them, ‘You are not on time, you can sit on the bench’.
“The players looked at me surprised. Discipline is important. When we have a meeting, you should be on time. Discipline is needed in everything you do.
“When you have no discipline in a team, it is very difficult to be successful.”
Luhukay is aiming to improve on last season’s disappointing 15th-placed finish.
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Hide AdSo expect his Owls side to be supremely fit, well-drilled and organised when the serious stuff begins in August.
“Pre-season is always very important,” he said. “The Championship is such a strong, intensive league so you must have good preparation.”