Preston's players are queueing up for voluntary overtime on the training ground as the Championship reaches its climax.
Manager Alan Irvine admits he is 'delighted' by the amount of extra work being put in by his squad as they chase a play-off place.
"It is a fantastic culture we have at Preston," he said this week as he
prepared for the final run-in which starts this evening at Bristol City.
"The extra stuff is not compulsory, it is purely voluntary.
"But after every training session we are getting lads staying on to do a bit more.
"It isn't something I've been surprised about – this is a very conscientious group of players."
Loan signing Lee Williamson arrived from Watford this week and was impressed by the level of fitness his new team-mates showed.
Even though the 26-year-old came from another club where exhausting high-tempo training routines are the norm, he still found North End's fitness regime daunting.
Irvine said: "Lee was able to cope with our training sessions no
problem.
"But in his first few days he wasn't able to do the extra bits which some of the boys were volunteering to do afterwards.
"Not everyone hangs about after the normal sessions are finished. It depends how they each feel on the day.
"But we have created a culture here where, if the lads feel they have got a bit more to give and feel up to it, they stay out on the field and do some specialist work.
"I've got to say I'm delighted by the number of them seeking out the coaches to do special stuff like finishing – which they all like doing – passing for defenders, or heading for defenders.
"It's brilliant to see them in little groups around the training ground doing that little bit extra to improve their own game."
Irvine admits an overtime culture is something he has encouraged as a coach at Blackburn, Newcastle and Everton.
He said: "Far from scarpering when training is over, I have found players actually want to do a bit more work which is relevant to their specific jobs in the team.
"It is something I have always tried to create whatever job I have been in. And it has always been popular.
"It was something I talked to the players about here when I first came in and it has gone from there.
"Once you get two or three doing it, then it becomes four or five and that becomes eight or nine and so on.
"We leave it to the lads themselves to decide if they have enough in the tank to do a bit more.
"A lot of the work we do in our general training sessions is based around the team rather than individuals.
"But we very rarely have a session where all the players walk in afterwards."
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