Irish goal ace Padraig Amond happy Hartlepool eat breathe and sleep football

That was the message from Padraig Amond with the big League Two kick-off just 24 days away.

Pools are midway through their training camp in the delightful resort of La Caleta.

Amond says it is a week when the players and staff are able to “eat, sleep and breathe football” and he believes the squad will come back “super-fit”.

The 28-year-old told SportMail that he has had camps abroad during his career in his native Ireland but this is his first in his time in England.

He hailed the vision not just of boss Craig Hignett, but chairman Gary Coxall , from owners, JPNG.

“A lot of credit goes to the chairman who has kind of given him a blank canvas,” he said.

“He is letting the gaffer do his thing to have the best set-up for the club.

“Stuff like this is may be not what Hartlepool United tends to do.

“Maybe it will be from now on, training camps like this might be a regular occurence and it can only help us for the season.

“Maiden Castle is a fantastic facility, it truly is and you can train superbly there, day-in, day-out.

“Here we can eat, sleep and breathe football for a week and with all those double sessions the lads are going to be super-fit and we’ll be reaping the benefits when we get back.

“I’ve been to Portugal a couple of years with Shamrock Rovers, but it’s the first time since I’ve been in England that’ve been away.

“I’m not sure I ever got past Accrington or Morecambe before.”

Amond says he is settling in really well to the club two weeks after starting work with Pools.

And the former Republic of Ireland U21 forward, who bagged 37 goals duruing Grimsby Town’s incredible run last season, spoke highly of the training camp at the state-of-the-art Top Training Tenerife site.

“All the lads have made me feel really welcome and the gaffer and the staff have been brilliant,” he said.

“I’m really enjoying it so far and hope it continues like this.

“It’s great for all the lads to be living in each other’s pockets for a week.

“It’s brilliant to get to know everyone that little bit better.

“Fitness-wise it will be fantastic, training twice a day we’ll come back like whippets!”