Pilgrims in Spain

ARGYLE have revised their summer travel arrangements and will now be flying out to Alicante, Spain for a training camp from July 17-22.

New Pilgrims’ manager Ryan Lowe was keen to do things own way after deciding against a trip to Delden, in Holland, which has been the team’s overseas pre-season base in previous years.

“I have never been to Holland but I wanted to put my own stamp on it, so we will be going to Alicante,” said Ryan, who was full of praise for the Real Club de Golf Campoamor Resort, where Argyle will be staying.

“The facilities are good, the food is amazing and we have been a couple of times before,” he said.

The manager outlined his decision for choosing southern Spain as he gears up for a second successive promotion tilt from Sky Bet League Two.

“As a player, I would like to go somewhere hot,” he said. “People might say ‘to sunbathe’ but, especially with the high altitudes, training in the heat is a lot more physically demanding – the lads will get a lot of rest while they are there, but we feel it’s massively important for what we want to do.

“It’ll be tough, they’ll train twice a day.”

Ryan also hopes to test his new squad against some local opposition during their stay.

He said: “While we’re there, we hope to get a game against a Spanish B team or maybe a Football League side. We’ll hopefully get a game on the Saturday.

“It’ll be a test; we can get a lot of football work out there, as well.”