Q&A | Physio Rob Loeb on the Yellows’ return to pre-season training

Following the club’s return to pre-season training, we spoke with Warrington Town physiotherapist Rob Loeb to discuss the progress made so far, and how pre-season will look for players over the coming weeks.

Rob, the players have been back in for a couple of sessions. Just run us through what you’ve been putting them through.

We started off on Saturday [June 27] with a nice parkrun 5k, and then a bit of conditioning on top of that, just to set the standard and intensity of our pre-season really. There has been a lot of pre-season fitness testing, doing counter-movements, jumps, triple hops, sprinting gates and yo-yo tests for conditioning, just to get baseline results of all the players that we can use and work on, see who’s above everyone else, who is behind, and who is on level with where we should be.

You obviously came to the club last year and have got the full pre-season this time. How do you put together your programme?

I take in mind a lot of what the gaffer [Paul Carden] wants and the coaching staff are looking for, the intensity they want to set. I’ve got to know a lot of the lads now, and knowing what levels they’re at, who needs to be pushing on. We’ve had quite a few injuries last season, so we’ve been working a lot over the off-season to make sure they’re all mended.

People probably don’t realise how much work you have to do at training, preparing for training. Tell us what that looks like on a weekly basis.

Obviously, you’ve not just got the players that are injured, making rehab programmes for them (long-term and short-term), but you’ve got to make sure everybody is fit, doing daily wellness questionnaires, making sure everybody is fit and ready for training. Any long-term chronic injuries people may have, making sure we are managing load over the month and that people are recovering well after games. Eating the right things, keeping the correct nutrition - there’s a lot that goes on behind closed doors.

A lot of data analysis goes on nowadays, doesn’t it?

Yeah, a lot of data analysis, comparing it to data from our level and levels above, where we should be at, where we can push to within our group. Keeping on top of research, making sure everyone is fit enough for where we need to be at the start of the season and throughout the season as well. It’s not just about making us the fittest team in the league, but helping to prevent injuries as well.

You’ve had some of the long-term injured lads back for quite a few weeks now - the likes of Chris Doyle, David Morgan and Josh Amis. How are those guys looking?

Pushing on really well. We’ve done a lot of work over the off-season, a lot of gym stuff. I’ve been nagging their heads sending them gym programmes to do every week, which they’ve been getting on with. Almost all of them are fully back fit and ready to go for pre-season. There are still a couple of things that need to be done with a few players, but we’re getting on top of it. We’re almost there, pushing on and doing really well.

Which players have looked the sharpest so far? I think Alex McNally won the bleep test, didn’t he?

There’s a couple of players out there looking very strong. Alex is flying. He’s a very, very fit lad, especially for this level. Fitness across the whole group is looking very good, it’s not just individuals.

What will you look at over the next four to five weeks in this pre-season programme?

We’ve got all the baseline data now of tests that are relevant. We are just going to be monitoring those for the next few weeks of pre-season. We’ll do them again at some point, and it also helps with baseline data in terms of injuries as well.

What about yourself personally, why did you get involved with non-league football?

Non-league football is brilliant. It’s the togetherness of the groups, it’s the connections you make. It’s the fans, the team ethic. Especially in my time at Warrington Town, I’ve got on with everybody. It’s just a genuine group of lads, and it’s been great to be here.

To view our full pre-season schedule ahead of the 2026/27 campaign, click here.