Birmingham City pre-season: Colin Tattum's analysis
He said the tinkering with formations – going from 4-5-1, 4-3-3 to 4-4-2 – provided significant information on who could, and who couldn’t, play where different line-ups and shape was required.
Under the demanding orders of head of sports science and fitness Ben Rosenblatt, Blues did much lung-busting work in high temperatures.
The short 2km cycle ride to the Waldstadion in Westendorf each day was genteel and didn’t hint at the drills ahead.
The squad were given one afternoon off and another was spent white water rafting as a team-bonding exercise.
That aspect went well for Big Eck and his management staff; it was just the scorelines and inconsistencies that didn’t.
