England’s big fitness problem is mental – not physical

It was Michel Platini who said England are “lions in the winter and lambs in the summer”. Well, there is a whole lot of bleating going on now from the England camp following their disappointing 1-1 draw with Denmark.

Gareth Southgate had warned about the physical burnout of his players and the fitness concerns. And two games into the tournament that is unfortunately proving to be the case. The demands of the Premier League, it appears, are taking their toll.

It means, according to Darren Burgess, who has been director of high performance at Arsenal, and Liverpool’s head of fitness, that the choice of England’s hotel will become even more crucial in the coming days.

Southgate has located his squad at the remote Weimarer Land Spa & Golf Resort with the 3,000-square-metre LindenSpa, its three pools, six saunas, six relaxation areas – including water beds and private ‘cocooning’ and seven treatment rooms.

“That would not be by accident at all,” Burgess said. “Anything around float tanks, saunas, anything where there is no ability to have your phone next to you so they can switch off is great for both physical and mental recovery.”

Recovery is certainly the key ahead of the final group game against Slovenia on Tuesday and England’s hopes for involvement in the rest of the tournament.

“A lot of recovery nowadays is looking at the psychological aspect,” Burgess explained. “Players do more things like meditation, a lot of mindfulness practice – whether that be breathing or cold plunges, saunas, float tanks. All those things which I am quite sure the England players will be exposed to.

“Having an emphasis on recovery is going to be really important. Things like the meetings and tactics, just timing of those and allowing players to sleep in a little later each morning so they don’t have to get up at early hours. That’s really important and then a really big focus on nutrition which will help both physical and mental recovery.”