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secret behind Stephen Ireland’s eye-catching form this season boils
down to simple hard work according to Blues boss Mark Hughes.
It’s
not just the goals that the Irish midfielder has contributed – seven in
the league and two more in cup competitions – but his non-stop running
and 27 starts where his standards have not slipped that have picked him
out as one of our players of the season so far.
Stephen chose to
undertake a rigorous fitness regime during the last close-season, and
that allied with new methods employed at Carrington have all
contributed in Hughes’ opinion.
“Stephen works exceptionally hard
on a daily basis, and it is no coincidence that he has been able to
sustain the level of performance that he has been playing at. He not
only works on his game, but he works on his ability to cope with the
demands of the Premier League. As a consequence he has been able to
maintain his excellent form, so we're really pleased with what he has
produced so far.”
With the emphasis put on fitness at training,
including a revamped gym at Carrington, does the Manager think the
squad’s fitness will begin to tell in the second half of the season?
“We're
expecting that, we changed a lot of things at the training ground last
summer in terms of preparation and the daily work that the players do.
“But
we also have to make sure that we have players fit & available for
selection, we've been lacking a bit of continuity because of injuries.
The clubs that do well in this or any season do so invariably because
they have good continuity of selection. Being able to pick the same
side week in, week out is something we have not had the luxury of, and
I hope that resolves itself in the second half of the season.”
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