Leeds United head coach Uwe Rosler has cut an excited figure after the Whites confirmed pre-season friendly fixtures against Spanish La Liga side Athletic Bilbao and Bundesliga outfit Hoffenheim.
The Championship side will travel to Austria for a training camp, during which they will face Athletic Bilbao on 21st July.
They will then head to Norway, a country Rosler knows well having managed three sides in the Norwegian top flight, to face Hoffenheim at Lillestrom's ground on 25th July.
For Rosler, two games on the Whites' overseas trip is enough, while it was also important that Leeds did not undergo pre-season preparations in a climate not similar to that in the UK.
The German tactician told his club's site: "I started last week so my first days at work were spent assessing certain things and what was in place for pre-season.
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"We decided it was in the best interests of our football club, and for the quality of teams that we can meet, to go to Austria where we will find very good conditions to train.
"The pitch is walking distance from the hotel and the quality of opposition we will play against was massively important for me", he continued.
"I don’t like to go into the heat – I like to go into a moderate climate, very similar to the UK where you can really put a shift in, in terms of laying the foundations for the season."
And Rosler stressed the importance of getting pre-season right for the season to come, arguing it can affect the campaign even ten months down the line.
"Pre-season is very important, but it’s not just the first month – we’re laying the foundations for the next 10 months."
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