Hi Alex, hope you’re well.

Thanks for the question! It will be good to see what everyone else thinks, but from our perspective, just playing the game of football in training is a fantastic way to help your players develop the physical capabilities needed to impact matchdays.

Just consider how you might use the STEP framework to replicate the physical demands of the game format your players take part in. Here are some ideas to try.

Space

Increase the size of the pitch (if possible) to help players perform physical actions similar to matchday. For example, if you play 5v5 games in training on a 40x30-yard pitch, try a 5v5 game on a 50x40 pitch.

Task

Give players tasks which encourage game-realistic roles and actions. An example: for your team to score, all your players must be over the halfway line. This will encourage your backline to push out as they would in a game, while also benefitting from physical movements. Consider playing timed games/competitions to encourage high-intensity play – e.g., play 3 x 7-minute games with the best aggregate score winning.

Equipment

If possible, have loads of footballs around the playing area and use a multi-ball system to keep the ball-rolling time high.

Players

Play small-sided games – 2v2s, 3v3s, 4v4s – to maintain high involvement in game play. 2v2 and 3v3 games can be quite intense, so you may need to factor in some breaks!

Hope this helps!