Wolves' players hit the training beat

Wolves boss Mick McCarthy believes his players have returned to work at around 80 per cent of their full fitness before they have even started.

The manager welcomed most of the players back to Compton yesterday as part of the phased return of all the squad, including new signings Jelle van Damme, Steven Fletcher and Steven Mouyokolo.

McCarthy said: "Training's not a problem when they come back. I'm not sure of precise percentages and would have to check, but I would say they come back with maybe 80 per cent.

"They all look after themselves and come back in decent shape. I don't need to speak to Tony Daley to know that – they're excellent.

"At one stage – a long time ago when I played – they used to use pre-season as a chance to get players fit to start training fully. Not any more. They come back fit and use pre-season to get fit for games.

"They have two weeks off, then get on a training regime and come back in good shape.

"We all used to do something on our own in my day but not in terms of a scientifically produced programme with heart rate monitors and the like.

"You just used to run around until you were sick or knackered!"

All the players barring World Cup trio Marcus Hahnemann, Nenad Milijas and Adlene Guedioura are due to return between now and Thursday, when Republic of Ireland duo Kevin Doyle and Kevin Foley, who played internationals less than a month ago, rejoin their team-mates.

Fitness coach Tony Daley explained the drill for the next few days, with the emphasis on rigorous scientific testing to determine their levels of fitness in every aspect.

The former Wolves, Villa and England winger said: "The players are split into three groups for three days of testing. For some the days will be very tough and others slightly less so.

"One group will be in the sports science laboratory doing the VO2 Max Test for aerobic endurance and to check their lactate profile.

"Another group will carry out field tests outside working on their speed, agility and power.

"These look at how quick they are over different distances as well as speed endurance, in terms of their ability to recover from sprints.

"The agility tests are important because it's great to be able to run in straight lines, but football's not about that and there's a lot of multi-directional changes needed in the game.

"There are also jump tests looking at the power in the players' legs and seeing if they've lost any significant power from last season, which may signal a potential problem with injuries.

"The third group will be doing pre-hab screening which has become part of our operations over a season.

"This involves a series of movements which will tell us where the players are in terms of their core and stability and strength."

Daley revealed the various tests are vital to assess where the players are at in terms of overall fitness, sharpness and agility.

He said: "It gives us a measure of where the players are for the start of the season. They've had their programmes to follow during the close season and this give us an idea of where we can start them for pre-season and how much progress they need to make.

"Once we've done all the tests we'll have a look at them to see where they are.

"I'm sure they're as fit and healthy as they have been in the previous years I've been here."

But, as Daley explains, it is not all running – the footballs come out pretty early too.

He said: "The gaffer likes to introduce a ball very early into pre-season so it's not just about fitness work, which is why it's good that the players maintain a certain level of fitness.

"There are specific drills involving ball work as well as a lot of strength work in the gym.

"It's all very well thought-out as we try to get as much as we can done to maximise the players' condition for the start of the season.

"And it's all with the ambition of getting them to be in peak condition for that first game."