Focus on fitness

4:06pm Friday 20th June 2008

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FITNESS is foremost for Alty as they begin preparations for the new season.

The Robins began preseason training on Saturday with a voluntary session for those players not still on holiday.

A strong contingent that included Colin Little, Robbie Lawton and Joe O'Neill were put through their paces by manager Graham Heathcote and he was impressed with what he saw.

"The session was basically fitness, just a chance to blow off the cobwebs and see where the lads are," he said.

"A lot of them are still on holiday so we're not able to start proper preseason training yet but I was impressed with the fitness of those who turned up.

"It's important that we reach peak fitness for the start of the season. Whatever we did last season was on the right lines so we need to repeat that at least and even look to build on it."

The preseason programme will begin in earnest within the next two weeks and a three-day retreat to Mottram Hall is already booked in for the first weekend in July. The trip will act as a team-building exercise but will also give Heathcote a chance to really put his players to the test.

While there have been no new arrivals in the past week at Moss Lane, the club remain very active in the transfer market.

Heathcote missed out on a centre forward target, who has decided to stay with his current club, while centre half Colin Murdock has decided to join Accrington Stanley.

The club are still hoping to wrap up the signings of two left-sided defenders and are in talks with a host of other players.