Potters start Austrian trip

Stoke City jetted out to Austria on Saturday in what is becoming a regular part of the Potters’ pre-season warm-up schedule.

The first team squad are again staying in Bad Aussee, a small market town and spa, which is in one of Austria’s most beautiful areas, 50 miles south-east of Salzburg.

Not that the team are going to have much chance of sightseeing if Tony Pulis has anything to do with it. He quickly laid the law down on arrival and is planning two training sessions a day for the next week. They got quickly to work on Sunday morning with TP telling the official site: ‘All the lads have settled straight into the routine, they had a very hard session this morning which they all come through. They will be back out there later on today, and we will look to do something a little bit different.’

They will face local side, Bad Aussee on Tuesday evening followed by the big match against Real Madrid, who are also training in the area, on Friday before the team fly back next Saturday.

Marlon Broomes and Matt Hazley both missed out on the trip due to injuries, but Dominic Matteo was included even though he has not yet been offered a contract after his short term contract expired at the end of last season.

Austrian squad: Simonsen, Hoult, Hoefkens, Wilkinson, Buxton, Hill, Higginbotham, Dickinson, Shotton, Lawrence, Eustace, Russell, Matteo, Pulis, Garrett, Delap, Sweeney, Fuller, Parkin, Pericard, Rooney, Sidibe.