July 13 2001

Crystal Palace

Eagles boss Steve Bruce said the training camp in Spain is not an extension of the summer holidays for the players.

The Eagles have been subjected to a week long of hard training in the Spanish sun.

Palace won their first pre-season friendly 4-0 against Spanish side San Pedro. Goals were scored by Jamie Smith, Steve Thomson, Gregg Berhalter and Wayne Carlisle.

The Palace boss said: "The important thing was to look at fitness levels in a match situation, and there seem to be no problems on that front.

"This week has been one of hard training, it's no holiday in the sun. It's very hot out here and we've been training early in the morning and later in the evening to get out of the mid-day sun.

"Some of the players have come up to me and said this is the hardest pre-season training they have ever had and I'm glad about that. It will pay off at the start of the season."

On Sunday, Palace face opposition from Croatian side Osijek before flying home on Monday.