Springbok influence at Celtic

Johannesburg - Bloemfontein Celtic are looking to get their players into peak physical condition by bringing in Springbok fitness guru Derik Coetzee ahead of the upcoming Premiership season.

Phunya Sele Sele coach Clinton Larsen has employed the services of Coetzee, who worked with the 2007 World Cup winning South African rugby team and who is also helping prepare the country's hockey side for the Olympic Games.

"I think it is imperative to have a strong aerobic programme at the beginning of the pre-season training," Larsen told Times Live.

"You must have a good base of fitness and endurance and that's what the first two weeks of our preparations are dedicated to."

The Siwelele players will now be put through a series of fitness tests as Larsen looks to get his players into fighting shape ahead of the new campaign, which will see the Free State side contest the MNT8 following their eighth-place finish in the 2011/12 campaign.

"The tests determined which of the players had done what they were supposed to do with their individual training programmes during the holidays and where we might need to adjust the individual sessions," the coach added.