The lads trained for the first time at the fantastic new facility on Wednesday afternoon.
Michael Dawson, now the club’s longest-serving player and Club Captain, summed it up in one word – ‘special’.
Aaron Lennon, another player who has been with us for over seven years, said it was ‘incredible’ while Emmanuel Adebayor insisted it had to be ‘one of the best training grounds in Europe’.
“The lads are coming here excited,” said Michael, who joined us in January, 2005. “It’s fresh, everything’s new. When you look at the facilities, there aren’t that many better. Everything from the changing room to the restaurant is very special, and an awful lot of work has gone into it by a lot of people. The lads are buzzing to be here and to have the opportunity to experience the quality that’s here.”
Aaron said: “It really is an incredible place. I’ve trained at the training grounds of most of the big clubs while with England and none of them come close to this. I’m walking around here and I can’t believe that this is our workplace, our training facility. It’s fantastic that the club has made this happen. I enjoyed every minute at Spurs Lodge but the facilities here just are on a different level. This training centre is not only going to improve us as a team but it will benefit players at every level at the club and everyone who works here. The lads can do so much more here in terms of gym work, conditioning and rehab as well and the pitches are perfect for playing football on. I can’t pick a fault with anything here.”
‘Ade’ commented: “I’ve had the chance to play at Real Madrid, Arsenal and Manchester City and for me, this is one of the best training grounds in Europe, no doubt about that. The most important thing is the place you work. Everything is here for us, from the pitches to recovery, the gym is incredible, the restaurant, everything is in place.”
Jake Livermore returned from England duty to Hotspur Way on Wednesday.
“It’s perfect for what we want to achieve as a club,” he said. “It’s got everything we could possibly want. The pitches are fantastic, all the equipment, the gym facilities, the pool for recovery and also off the pitch, there are areas for us to relax. There really are no faults here.”
Michael was particularly impressed with the gym – a place he was unfortunately well acquainted with at Spurs Lodge in the last two seasons as he recovered from long-term injuries.
“The gym looks out to the training pitches – where you aim to be when you are injured,” he said. “It gives you a goal, makes you hungry to be back out there, where you want to be. When you can see it, that’s what you are working towards. It’s somewhere I don’t want to spend much time, out here on the training pitch is where I want to be, enjoying it and working hard.”
