[Premier League Reserves Men's Coach, Nick Harrison and Premier League Men's Coach, Eamonn Kelly are ready for Brisbane]
Raelene Hennicke: On Wednesday, 25 January, you fly out to Brisbane with the Zebras squad of players for a pre-season tournament. How many players are you taking? What number of games will you play?
Eamonn Kelly: Wednesday 25 January we do fly to Brisbane at 6.00am. Thanks DJ! We will be taking a squad of 16 players. We would and could take about 20 as it has been a very difficult decision to pick the final squad. There has been a tremendous battle among the boys for a spot in the squad, but, unfortunately, as always, some people have to wait for the next opportunity, which will be the start of the Summer Cup. We will be playing three games in four days, so it will be a great test to see where we are at with our fitness levels.
The schedule will be: Arrive Wednesday 25at 9.30 am. Transfer to the accommodation and then train at 11.30am and 2.00pm, and then play our first game the same day at 7.00pm.
RH: What teams will you be playing in Brisbane?
E.K : First game, 25 January 2012 at 7.00pm versus Mitchelton F.C., Queensland Premier League 1.
Second game, 26 January 2012 at 7.00pm versus Samford Rangers, Queensland Premier League 1.
Third game, 27 January 2012 at 7.00pm versus Mt Gravatt Hawks S.C., Queensland Premier League 1.
RH: Do you think that playing and training in the heat over the five days will benefit the team for the Summer Cup more so than preparing in our cooler climate?
E.K : I firmly believe that training and playing in their sort of temperatures can only benefit the players for our assault on the 2012 Summer Cup and also be a good stepping stone for the up-coming season. We train and play in our climate every day of the week, so it will be great to, hopefully, see the benefits.
RH: What are your expectations of the tournament?
E.K: The expectations are very high from me and the coaching staff, as the club has invested a lot of money. We are not travelling that far to lose anything.
RH: What are your expectations of the players?
E.K: The expectations of the players is also at a very high level as they have worked their behinds off since November 2011 for this trip and beyond. I can only commend nearly all of the squad as most have been training five nights a week, and also week-ends. I would like to wish every one of them all the very best for the trip and 2012 season, and always remember that nothing in this world comes easily. If you want to be the very best, you have to work very hard, and harder again after that.
