'I had tunnel vision' - George Johnston reveals his summer target at Wanderers

George Johnston believes ‘hitting the gym’ this summer will help him have a successful season at Wanderers.

The former Liverpool man announced earlier this year that he intended to bulk up to better cope with the physical demands of League One football.

And he has returned to Lostock in top shape, confident the hours he spent lifting weights will give him an advantage then the action starts again next month.

“I feel the best I have ever been coming into a pre-season,” he said.

“I feel bigger, heavier, sharper and more powerful, so that can only put me in good stead for the rest of the season.

“I think going into the off-season I had tunnel vision, one goal. When I went off on holiday all I was thinking about was what the gym was like and when I could get in it.”

Johnston is not alone. Physical stats in Ian Evatt’s camp are said to have improved considerably on this point in the summer 12 months ago.

Wanderers returned to action looking sharp against non-league Longridge Town on Tuesday night, scoring nine unanswered goals, and Johnston reckons the week-long training camp in Portugal has produced the right results.

“It was probably the best way we could have started pre-season,” he said. “Those games are always tricky, kind of a lose-lose, you are expected to win and put on a good performance but from what I saw in the first half and played in the second half, we showed what the manager wanted us to in abundance.

“It’s exactly what we wanted it to look like and thankfully it came to fruition.

“It was one of the toughest first weeks of pre-season I have ever had and it can only benefit us, really. We want to be fitter than last season where we finished strong but we want to push on from there now.

“When you get a week away it is 24-seven and there is more opportunity to stay on the pitch because there is a morning session, a gym session, then an afternoon session.

“You know when you are with the lads all the time you are building up relationships and working hard on the pitch. It is a good working environment to be in.”

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