Pre-season training | Week six round-up

11th August 2024

Wolves’ 2024/25 Premier League campaign is set to get underway in less than a week’s time at the Emirates, and Gary O’Neil’s men rounded off their pre-season preparations at Molineux yesterday.

Having started out their penultimate week of pre-season in the USA, the squad ended it in the Black Country as Wolves…

And wolves.co.uk has rounded up everything that has been going on during week six of pre-season, which included two matches and a big photoshoot at Molineux.

Saturday 3^rd August

Another Saturday meant another pre-season friendly for O’Neil’s side, who as always were given the morning off in preparation for their evening kick off against Bundesliga outfit RB Leipzig.

Unlike their previous games out in the States, there was no travelling involved for the players ahead of last weekend’s match, as the game took place at Inter Miami’s Chase Stadium, right next to the club’s Florida Blue Training Centre where Wolves had spent the previous 10 days training.

The match itself saw Wolves round off their pre-season tour with an impressive 3-0 victory, putting in their most complete performance of the summer yet, as Pablo Sarabia’s brace was followed up by an excellent team goal which Rodrigo Gomes put the finishing touches to.

Despite a classic Florida downpour, which had occurred in all of Wolves’ pre-season matches across the pond this summer, the side in gold and black controlled the contest to see out the win.

All smiles from the gaffer 😀 pic.twitter.com/QbNWWjzKAk
— Wolves (@Wolves) August 4, 2024

#Summer2024

Sunday 4^th August

The final day in Miami was one of recovery for the majority of the first-team squad, who took part in a light gym session during the morning as they got over their exertions from the previous evening’s win over Leipzig.

Ahead of the match on Friday, the squad were paid a visit from a familiar face as Inter Miami owner and former England captain David Beckham stopped by for a quick chat and some photos with O'Neil and his group.

But on Sunday, following almost two weeks in the States, Sunday afternoon saw the players pack their bags ready to head to the airport for the flight back to the UK.

Similarly to their arrival into America, the travelling group – which included players, coaches, backroom staff and the media team – were split into two groups with one heading back earlier in the afternoon, while the other set off for an overnight flight back to Heathrow.

Thank you for all of your support in 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/h703nPttcW
— Wolves (@Wolves) August 4, 2024

Monday 5^th/Tuesday 6^th August

Having landed back in Heathrow on Monday morning, the squad travelled back to Compton Park to collect their cars and head home to see their families.

Due to the jet lag which occurs when travelling from west to east, as well as the lack of sleep being had on the overnight flight, the players were given the rest of Monday and Tuesday off, to ensure they could be fully rested ahead of their return to training – their first day off since pre-season began over a month ago!

Wednesday 7^th August

Following a day of rest, the players were back into the thick of their pre-season schedule on Wednesday as O’Neil had the players taking part in their final double training session of the summer.

With fitness for the majority of the squad now back to where the head coach needs it to be ahead of the start of the Premier League season, training now starts to take a more tactical turn

The week leading up to Arsenal will replicate that of a normal match build-up, rather than the gruelling pre-season regime, which is more about finding the balance between getting the players as fit as possible, while also integrating different tactical systems.

Thursday 8^th August

Following a morning of training at Compton Park, the players spent the afternoon at Molineux for the annual media access day inside the Stan Cullis Stand lower concourse.

Media access day allows all external broadcasters, including Sky Sports, TNT and Premier League Productions, the opportunity to capture content with O’Neil’s first-team squad for the season.

While there are top-up sessions with a limited amount of players in the winter, this is the primary opportunity for broadcasters to have one-on-one time with every member of the squad, including the head coach and his assistant Tim Jenkins.

The players firstly took photos in the away kit before changing into the Old Gold to not only have the photos taken that will be seen on Wolves’ media graphics but also plenty of video content for external broadcasters which fans will be able to see throughout the season.

Friday 9^th August

The end of the working week saw the Wolves squad out on the training pitches at Compton as O’Neil and the coaching staff put the finishing touches to their preparations for the only Molineux friendly of the summer.

With the players being given the afternoon to rest up ahead of the match with Rayo Vallecano, O’Neil – who was marking his first year in charge of the team – spent the time putting pen to paper on a new four-year contract.

Signed until 2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣8️⃣ pic.twitter.com/sxuTGrsZ7Q
— Wolves (@Wolves) August 9, 2024

Along with his backroom team of Tim Jenkins, Shaun Derry, Ian Burchnall, Neil Cutler and Woody Dewar, O’Neil has committed his long-term future to the club signing until 2028.

And to celebrate, he headed over to Molineux where he joined sporting director Matt Hobbs as well as his wife and children in signing his contract extension, posing for photos as well as undertaking an interview with Wolves TV.

Saturday 10^th August

A final pre-season matchday as the players headed to Molineux for a friendly clash with Rayo Vallecano.

After arriving at the stadium in the morning, they are taken by coach to the team hotel where they were given some last-minute pieces of tactical advice ahead of returning to the stadium at 1.30pm.

The match was one that will not live long in the memory, and was played a very leisurely pre-season pace, as the side from Spain claimed the victory thanks to an impressive long-range effort from Isi Palazon.

After full-time, the players headed home and started their recovery for the final week of preparation before Premier League season gets underway at the Emirates against Arsenal next weekend.