Fitness First

Many Fulham fans may not have heard of Steve Nance, but the Australian fitness coach has certainly made his mark since joining Chris Coleman’s coaching team ahead of the 2005/06 season.

Nance arrived at Fulham with an impressive CV; fitness coach for the Australian World Cup winning Rugby Union side and a stint with the London Broncos. The affable Aussie’s remit was clear, to get Fulham’s players as fit and strong as they’ve ever been for the rigours of the Premiership.

“This was a big job and a big challenge. I came from a different country to work with football players who are very different from Rugby League and Rugby Union players, and it’s getting better all the time.

“I would say it’s probably taken a year for the players to adapt to the changes. When I arrived some of them were hesitant regarding change but have adapted well to the challenges - it’s sound scientific knowledge that we’re applying and we’ve still got a long way to go, we’re not there yet.

"You compare Ian Pearce’s playing levels from last season. He’s a completely new player and that’s down to his attitude in training and it’s been fantastic to work with him.” Steve Nance

“The benefits we’re working on are long term fitness and the prevention of injuries and we’ve reduced injuries. The guys with chronic back problems, hamstring problems and pelvic problems haven’t got them at the moment and we’ve had very few soft tissue injuries - that’s what we want to keep up for the whole season. We’ve had a couple of contact injuries during games which are unfortunately unavoidable.”

Individual examples highlight the benefits of Nance’s fitness regime and no one else has been rewarded more for his hard work in training than Ian Pearce. The big central defender endured an injury plagued spell at the Cottage until midway through last season and this campaign the central defender has been a revelation.

“Pearcey said to me that he thinks he’s as fit as he’s ever been, probably even fitter than when he was younger. His skin fold measurements are way down, his lifting profile in the gym is fantastic and what has surprised me from last year is that Ian is one of our best runners.

“Aerobically he’s a very good athlete; he would have made a good 400m runner. He’s been dogged with injuries in recent years but we’ve worked with the medical staff to eliminate that.

“You compare Ian Pearce’s playing levels from last season. He’s a completely new player and that’s down to his attitude in training and it’s been fantastic to work with him.”

From an individual perspective to Fulham’s team performances, fitness has played a major role in three of the Whites' Premiership fixtures this season. Jimmy Bullard’s last gasp penalty earned Fulham a point against Bolton in the dying seconds before two goals in the final ten minutes at St. James Park handed Chris Coleman’s side their first away win of the season.

Last week Fulham staged a remarkable comeback against Watford and no one was more delighted with the players’ performance in the final twenty minutes than Nance.

“You can see when the opposition are tiring because they start making poor decisions. When your glycogen levels go down on the pitch that’s when you start making mistakes. We’re trying to eliminate that by getting them fitter and making sure they’re properly prepared before the game. It was pleasing to see against Watford – the last 20 minutes was fantastic.”

Nance has revised his training methods this season and is enjoying a closer working relationship with Fulham’s management staff and there is no doubt that Fulham’s players are reaping the rewards from Nance’s fitness regime.

"The players as a whole have lost weight and got stronger and more powerful.  Many of them have developed muscles on parts of their bodies that they’ve never had.

“We’re hitting our targets in terms of goals for the start of the season, trying to keep as many players as fit as possible, going okay in the gym and the on field sessions have been pretty good.

“We monitor their volume this year - they don’t just go out and do two hour sessions. It’s all closely monitored and everyone is working as a team and we’re hoping that hard work will pay off in the long term.”