Wednesday 2 August 2017 19:30, UK
Tim Thornton talks long drives, locked doors and friendly locals as he toured with Premier League newcomers Huddersfield Town in pre-season.
We arrived in Austria to a sign on the hotel reception door, please check yourself in. The only problem was it was 3am and the main door of the hotel was locked. All the staff had gone home and we were locked out
Not a great start to our trip, especially given our late arrival had been due to a flight delay and then storms over Munich which prevented us landing for over an hour.
We eventually found a window slightly open and one by one managed to climb through it. Now stood in reception we made our way behind the check-in desk and helped ourselves to a couple of spare room keys off the wrack. By 4am we were safely in our rooms.
We woke at 8am the next day to apologies from the hotel staff (they'd forgotten to leave us the entry code), grabbed a quick breakfast and we were on the road to do some filming.
We were based in the picturesque town of Kirchberg, and there was plenty of evidence to show this was the location Huddersfield Town had chosen as a training camp for the week. There were "welcome to Huddersfield Town" banners as you entered the town, fans with blue and white shirts happily wandering around, and flags outside the team hotel.
The Premier League new boys were holding a media day at their hotel, and after capturing plenty of footage of the beautiful location, that's where we headed to wait for the head coach and players to arrive.
The players were training at their nearby camp, so there was a delay as they returned, had some food (some also grabbed a few hours sleep), mindful of the fact they were back on the training pitch for another session that evening.
Then a full afternoon of interviews, live into Sky Sports News with the likes of David Wagner, captain Tommy Smith and new Danish goalkeeper Jonas Lossl.
At 5pm we were back in the car to follow the team coach to the training ground where the club were holding an open training session.
By 6.45pm we were live again on Sky Sports News with Huddersfield Town's head of football David Moss chatting to us while the players trained in the background.
The focus for the evening training session was shooting, with Wagner bellowing the words "hit the target" at his players.
As the session drew to a close the players made their way to the lake next to the pitch for a cool-down, and one-by-one they stripped to their shorts and entered the water. Some walked in, others jumped in off the top board. Club captain Mark Hudson provided us with a running commentary as midfielder Danny Williams dived in. Unfortunately, those pictures never made it to air as Williams lost his shorts in mid-air.
Lots of laughs and lots of fun for everyone, before the players made their way to sign autographs for the travelling fans who'd been watching the session. Huddersfield Town are determined to do things their way in the Premier League and this was evidence of that as players and fans mingled happily together in the fading sun.
By 9pm we were back at the hotel, looking forward to an evening meal and a good night's sleep.
Day two was another early start, this time for a trip up the fabulous mountains with Huddersfield Town first-team coach Andy Hughes. We paused for a social cappuccino at the top, before interviewing Hughes for Sky Sports News on the way back down. A stunning location as we chatted about the forthcoming Premier League season and Hughes gave us an insight into why the players were prepared to run through a brick wall for the boss Wagner.
The afternoon was taken up by the 60-minute drive to Schwaz, the venue for Huddersfield's friendly with Bundesliga new-boys Stuttgart. Our cameraman Chris got lost several times on the winding roads, baffled by the German sat-nav system, before we eventually pulled up at the stadium. The temperature gauge in the car read 103 degrees!
A quick pre-match interview was followed by regular updates into Sky Sports News on a thrilling 3-3 draw. Then a post-match chat with Wagner and Danny Williams who described this as his toughest ever pre-season match.
We hit the road once again and headed back to Kirchberg, produced an online tour video before bed, and psyched ourselves up for the long drive back to Munich airport the next morning.
Our trip was over, but the players had more days of intensive training to come in the Austrian sunshine.
It was clear from spending a few days with the team that there's a feel-good factor around the group, an excitement at what lies ahead. And a clear focus as they get ready for their first ever Premier League fixture against Crystal Palace on August 12.
