Kean delighted with squad passing fitness test.

Kean delighted with squad passing fitness test.

DPMM FC will have a full squad to choose from in the upcoming S.League season after every single player successfully passed the mandatory 2.4km fitness test which was conducted at the Jerudong Mini Stadium yesterday afternoon.
The selected 25-man squad needed to undertake a fitness test undr nne minutes and 30 seconds which is compulsory as a precondition of playing in the S-League as representatives from Singapore were present to brief groups of players.
Fortunately,DPMM head coach Steve Kean will have no such worries with fitness concerns and he eblievess their recent Bangkok trip was testament of their readiness of competitive football.
"It showed their fitness test levels that we're pushing and it shows that with pre-season the fact that we went away to Thailand., the fact we've had now by the end of the week,seven whole weeks and still we got one week to go.Eight weeks of preseason, we got a very high fitness level so we're delighted with today," said Kean in an interview after the fitness test yesterday.
The head coach explained the good work that they had done in training including small sided games while avoiding injury,though there was onyl a minor concern with new recruit Francois Marque.
"We've got one player that has got a stiff back but we've not had any muscle injuries.So that shows that their muscles and fitness levels are at a peak performance."
The former Basel defender missed training on Tuesday and was a llowed a couple of days rest as he looked to recover from a back problem.
But he had no problem cruising to the finish during the fitness test and even helped inspire Azam to cross the line.
"We let him relax for a couple of days and had intensive treatment over the last few days at the National Stadium with our physio,"Kean said.
Kean further stressed that the mandatory fitness test is not a competition and was glad to see that all players had passed the test.
"The objective of today is to help to be a team and if you can do it the quickest ever but somebody's struggling, it shows the mark of the team spirit.Some of them were staying in the back trying to push along their team-mates.
"I don't even care who's first as long as everybody gets through it and we showed great togetherness staying with somebody who was struggling and pulled them along.That shows the good team ethic that we've got."
The fomrer Blackburn Rovers manager further added that the players got fitter every year with the players who did not meet the times last year succeeded in the first time of asking this year.
The head coach also admitted that he is not a big fan of the mandatory fitness test which is not made compulsory in the other national leagues.
"If being honest,I'm not a lover of the six-lap, 2.4 km test.If you can do the test, I don't think that has a correlation with football any longer.
"I think the S-League is the only league that actually does a test.I don't know if there'd any other league in the world that does a test.
"And if you don't pass the test,you don't play in the league but thats the rules and we've got to repect the rules.

"We've got through it so thats good," Kean siad whose side will be facing Home United at the Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium on March 3.

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