Brentford FC Head of Medical Neil Greig spoke to www.brentfordfc.co.uk at the end of the 2013/14 season.
He has paid tribute to his team for their work as The Bees won promotion from Sky Bet League One and looked ahead to life in The Championship.
In the first part of the interview – which can be read here – Neil outlined the work done over the past three years since he took up his post and ahead to life in the second tier.
In the second part – here – he looked at some of the specific challenges his department faced over the past season.
More from the interview can be seen below.
Neil outlined what life was like in his department on a week-by-week basis.
“On a standard week, with matches Saturday and then the next Saturday, players have Sunday off, unless injured, then Wednesday off,” he said.
“They have a moderate session Monday, tough Tuesday, Wednesday off, unless injured, and Thursday and Friday become match preparation.
“If we play on Tuesday it’s different.
“We are in on Sunday for recovery, light training and match preparation Monday and Tuesday is game day, travelling on the day or day before if we are away.
“Those weeks are when the medical and conditioning guys come in to their own.
“James Purdue and Tom Perryman focus on recovery post-game, nutritional and rehydration strategies immediately after the Saturday match.
“Tom will then work in gym the following morning, James will train with guys that have not played.
“Daryl Martin, Richard Clark and I work on knocks trying to turn them round for Tuesday.
“Chris Domoney is a real plus point.
“He was here before anyone.
“The work he does Sunday and Monday getting players back on their feet is second to none.”
There will be different plans in place when The Bees are playing away from home.
“If we travel Friday for Saturday when we arrive the guys have been on coach five or six hours,” said Neil.
“James Purdue and Tom Perryman organise a pool session, get stiffness out of legs.
“Alongside the normal nutritional input we put on a clinic in the evening on Friday.
“Daryl Martin, Chris Domoney and I treat players, offer massage etc.
“We are on hand whilst we are away in case of illness.
“On the day of the match one of us will go to stadium, set up and check out medical procedures, they differ greatly between clubs.
“By the time the guys arrive at 1.30pm everything is ready to go.
“Everything is prepared; they have least amount to worry about.”
Neil outline how football had changed since he first got in to the game.
“I believe it is a more athletic game than it used to be,” he said.
“It’s a faster game.
“This is my ninth season in football; the players are bigger and quicker.
“I have noticed League One is more technical than it used to be, perhaps that is because there are more foreign players in the Premier League and better players are being pushed down.
“We are fortunate we have picked up some of those from bigger clubs.
“That has paid dividends with the football we play.
“It is faster and you get a greater risk of soft tissue injuries, either by contact or overload.
“These guys play at greater intensity for longer periods.
“At Brentford we play a high pressing game when we don’t have the ball, we close down fast and work hard.
“Fitness levels have shown throughout the season.
“We have scored a lot of late goals, which is testament to the fitness staff.
“Chris Haslam did it at the start; James Purdue and Tom Perryman have taken that on.”
Over the past few years Brentford have taken players on loan from top Premier League clubs.
Neil outlined how he works with the parent clubs.
“The key thing is communication,” he said.
“In George Saville’s case, when he got an injury, we communicated early with Chelsea.
“It is testament to our reputation that Chelsea were happy for us to manage the problem.
“Scans and reports were sent to them but they said we were doing the job well and should continue to look after him.
“When you don’t communicate it falls down.
“Clubs get annoyed if they are not involved in the process, rightly so, we are looking after one of their assets.
“This season, dealing with Liverpool, Chelsea, Fulham we have not had a problem.
“We have a medical loan player protocol that goes to each club when we loan a player out
“It requests a contact so we can liaise directly.
“We had Aaron Pierre at Wycombe Wanderers and he got a cut over his eye, we got feedback in the same way we feedback to Premier League clubs.
“It works right the way down the pyramid.
“It adds clarity and gives the Club we are loaning to the contact.
“It makes the pathways of communication clear.”