Northbridge FC is a professional football club in the north of England. On a normal training week, the players arrive at the training ground at 9am. They eat breakfast together in the club canteen before the first session. The head coach, Marcus Reid, always watches video analysis with the full squad on Monday mornings — it is a routine he never misses.
The players normally train twice a day during the week. The physio team treats any minor injuries every morning before training begins. Players rest on Sundays, and the coaching staff use that day to plan the following week. Every Thursday, the club publishes a match preview on its website, and supporters always read it eagerly.
But this week, everything feels different. Northbridge is preparing for the most crucial match of its season — a championship final on Saturday — and the atmosphere at the training ground is electric.
The whole squad is training three times a day this week, and nobody is complaining. Marcus is working closely with three injured players, who are doing special recovery exercises separately from the group. The analyst team is studying their opponent's last five matches in detail, looking for weaknesses. A group of fans is gathering outside the training ground every afternoon, which does not normally happen. The kit manager is carefully preparing special kit for the big occasion — even the socks are ironed.
"The players know what is at stake," Marcus tells me after the morning session, still in his tracksuit. "In a normal week, training is sharp and professional. This week, it feels like something else. The energy is incredible."
On Saturday, thousands of supporters will travel to the stadium. But right now, the focus is entirely on the training pitch.