Albion skipper Darren Fletcher reckons his pre-season regime under Tony Pulis has been the most gruelling as a professional footballer.
Fletcher joined Albion in January from Manchester United where the Scotland international experienced a different approach under Sir Alex Ferguson and Louis Van Gaal.
But the Albion captain reckons the early morning sessions around the Austrian Alps will benefits the Baggies’ squad in the long-run.
“It’s obvious that pre-season is going to be really difficult,” he said.
“The first few days have been really tough.
“We are getting up really early and working extremely hard, so it has been quite hard.
“Running up the hills is a totally new one for me in pre-season.
“It is a totally different feeling in your legs, it is a real burn.
“No matter what speed you travel at your legs will burn because of the incline on the hill so it is all about trying to keep a steady pace and getting through it.
“You can really feel the build up in your legs, but the good thing is that once we build that base up we will all feel really strong.
“It’s always so important to get a good pre-season under your belt and the manager is a big believer in fitness and tells us that every player has the ability to get fitter.
“People had said this was going to be tough, but you can’t prepare for the unknown, but saying that it is just as hard as we were expecting it to be, if not harder.
“After a week when we have done several difficult sessions that’s when we will really feel it and we will have to dig deep to get through it.”
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