Neestrup discusses summer plans as players return

F.C. Copenhagen head coach Jacob Neestrup says he's delighted to have the players back at the Number 10 training ground as pre-season training begins on the grass this Tuesday.

Members of the first-team squad that were not on international duty earlier this summer have now returned to the training ground and went through some physical tests on Monday. Today they're back out on the pitches, and Neestrup is glad to have them around again after the short break.

"First and foremost, it's all about seeing where the players are physically, but immediately it looks good," says Neestrup.

"Even if we are missing a number of national team players who will only arrive on Sunday, it is about getting trained as well as possible on our standards that we would like to have as a team. Next week we can start working on the whole, and that will lead us towards our training camp and then we'll take it from there.

"Among the staff, we'll also use this time to look back a little at what we think we did well in the spring, and there were also some things in our performances that were not at the constant level where we would like to be. This has to do with ourselves but perhaps also with our opponents starting to adjust a little to some of our strengths.

"So we in the staff are spending time analysing that now, and the goal is of course to maintain what we did well, turn it up a notch, and then adjust a little where we feel there is a need for it."

Holiday in Crete
The head coach, who helped FCK win the Danish Cup and Danish Suerliga title last season, has also managed to take a little holiday himself after the hectic spring.

"The first week after the end of the season I was in Copenhagen, but after that the whole family spent two weeks in Crete," he adds.

"It has been quiet and peaceful, and I have been able to disconnect, even though I have also talked to PC several times a day. But that has been fine, because of course you can't just switch off your phone for two weeks."

Three friendlies planned
On Wednesday next week, FCK play the first of three planned friendly matches of the summer when Silkeborg visit Number 10, and Neestrup expects some of the national team players to be ready for the game.

"First of all, that match is about getting as many miles into the legs as possible and in the best possible way, so that we are ready for the training camp," says Neestrup. "Most will probably play 45 minutes, but someone might also be able to push it to 60 minutes. We'll see about the national team players, but I have received messages from a few who really want to play that match. We will make a decision on that at the beginning of next week, when they are all back."

In addition to the Silkeborg match, FCK are down to play two practice matches in Austria against Schalke 04 and Viktoria Plzen. The match against the Czechs has been agreed to be three halves of 45 minutes, while the Silkeborg and Schalke matches are normal 90-minute games.

There is free access to watch the Silkeborg match on Number 10, and we also plan to stream it and the two other training matches in our app, so you can watch it with an FCK+ subscription.