Sean Gregan’s EXCLUSIVE Preston North End column: Training ground crucial to club’s future

Of course, there has been talk for a couple of years now of a move to a state-of-the-art, purpose-built facility on land at Ingol Golf Club, although those plans appear to have stalled.

I obviously think if they can upgrade this existing training ground or build a new one, then that will be brilliant for the club’s future.

Listen, if you have a football pitch, a decent piece of grass, then you can train, but it’s all the other stuff which goes on now before and after training.

Football has moved on and there is a danger you could get left behind and be at a disadvantage.

There’s all the pre-hab, strengthening work, getting the right foods inside players, which goes on before a ball is even kicked.

Then there’s all the after training and warm-downs, etc. I remember at Leeds, they had a pool so if you were injured you could work against the jets and do weight-bearing stuff.

Once you get on the grass, most sessions are pretty much the same, but it’s the other side of it which is important nowadays. To buy a lump of ground and build a new training complex will cost a lot of money.

They have got a decent bit of space down where they are now at Springfields so redeveloping that and spending a bit of money might be the best way forward.

It is important for the future of the club – when you’re trying to attract players, it’s a big selling point.

I went to Leeds, got shown around the training ground and it was like, ‘Wow’.

You have to remember I was coming down from the Premier League back to the Championship but the training facilities there were far better than the ones at West Bromwich Albion, although I think they have updated those now.

Springfields is a good space but it’s looking a bit dated and getting little bit rundown, so it probably needs developing and it will help attract new players if they can do that.

That is something for the near future, but the here and now is Saturday’s Championship clash at home to Hull City.

North End need to get back to winning ways after the blow of losing 1-0 to 
Millwall at Deepdale last weekend.

Everybody knows that Alex Neil’s men missed a golden opportunity to reinforce their automatic promotion hopes, especially with other results going their way.

Still, the team is in a great position – in sixth spot.

I imagine the players are starting to feel that little bit of added pressure with the season heading towards the business end.

But everybody is in the same boat really especially as the Championship is so tight.

If I am being honest, you might feel it a little bit before the game but once it starts you just get on with it.

I am confident that PNE will have too much for Hull which will set themselves up nicely for two huge away games at Fulham and West Bromwich Albion.