Writes: Evan Halliday
The European Championships are right around the corner, and preparations for the tournament have been ramped up, ahead of the penultimate
training weekend - sponsored by PelliTec Blister Prevention.
England and Everton defender, Sean Jackson has had his fair share of bad luck with injuries over the past 12 months, but is ‘feeling good’ ahead of a busy month.
Jackson said: “Personally, I’m feeling good ahead of this weekend, it’s always good to regroup as a squad and catch up with the lads.
“It’s the start of our last stretch, there’s just four weeks between now and the Euros but it’s a period where we have the chance to play a lot of football with camps and league fixtures so it’s an exciting time.”
As in every sport, playing on the biggest stages is the dream for a player and Jacko (Sean’s nickname) emphasised this.
“At the end of the day, this is what we sacrifice and train for, nothing compares to tournament football,” he said.
Recently, the team made the trip to Turkey for some warm weather training and the chance to play against some of the best in class in Turkey and Uzbekistan which yielded some positive signs.
Sean said, “the lads will be on a high from the performances in Turkey, the results might not show that, but we are all focused on the process and we are making positive steps to get to where we need to be, come June.”
While a weekend in Crewe isn’t quite as nice as a weekend abroad, every chance the lads get to meet up represents a vital chance to learn, progress and develop these ever-growing relationships on and off the pitch.
Jackson said, “Hopefully, this weekend we’ll be able to reflect on the games in Turkey, although they were positive, as a group of players and staff we want to be better and learn on where we can improve.
“This weekend there will be a focus on our group fixtures and getting ready for those, it’s key that we get some knowledge on our opponents and how the gaffer (Scott Rogers) wants us to approach each game.”
Looking forward to the Euros itself, the squad are in a great place, being both physically and
mentally ready for anyone they will face.
“I believe as a squad, we are in a great place heading into the tournament,
“We’ve got an important few weeks of real graft though, in order to be exactly where we want to be,” the defender said.
The lads and the great staffing team behind them will be travelling to Evian, France in just a few weeks for the Amputee European Championship where the group will be hopeful of making it successive years of lifting silverware.
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