Hughes on bounce games and training focus with struggling Blues - Iqraa news

Mark Hughes, right, pictured with assistant Glyn Hodges, says he does not see the need for more in-house bounce games now <i>(Image: Richard Parkes)</i>

Mark Hughes, right, pictured with assistant Glyn Hodges, says he does not see the need for more in-house bounce games now (Image: Richard Parkes)

Mark Hughes says Carlisle United’s squad are now “up to speed” fitness-wise for the critical League Two run-in.

The head coach has spent recent weeks arranging in-house games to give certain players important game time.

But he said he would not be holding such a game this week as he is now satisfied with the levels his squad have to offer.

Asked if there were plans for similar in-house action this week, Hughes said: “No – I’ve got us up to speed now so I can pick from the whole group.”

Hughes used last week to stage a game to run the rule over members of his squad.

He did similarly the previous time United had a week without a midweek fixture, in a game which saw Callum Guy and Archie Davies return to action ahead of their first-team recall.

This time, though, it appears the full accent is on training work as Carlisle try to revive their waning hopes of survival against Bromley this Saturday.

Callum Guy, right, was boosted in his fitness quest by a recent in-house game (Image: Ben Holmes)

Hughes has previously spoken about the varying fitness levels of the squad he inherited, suggesting that few were capable of getting through regular 90-minute action.

On in-house bounce games, he said last week: “It just helps the squad. A number of the players haven't had any game time or not played as much.

“The guys on the bench, they need a little bit more game time in bigger areas so that's why we do it.

“It always helps the group. It keeps everybody on an even keel in terms of the number of minutes that they're on.

“We’ve got a big group so at times it's difficult to get the areas that they need, that everybody needs. Some are at different levels as well, that I’ve mentioned before.

“I'm more comfortable [now] because after the bounce game there are a lot more players available in terms of I know that if they need to go in 90 minutes then I've got more players that can do that now.

“So we're in a much better place than we were maybe a couple of weeks back when we were trying to get players back from injury.”

On this week's training, meanwhile, the head coach added: "It's important to be innovative but sometimes you just need a little bit of consistency and understanding what the group needs and the work that they need.

"That's what we'll go through as a coaching group and we'll present that to them as the week progresses."

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