Parksy's praise for the keepers

Tony Parks says it's 'a joy' to work with our three senior goalkeepers.

Hugo Lloris, Brad Friedel and Heurelho Gomes were all in fine form during our stay in Hong Kong for the Barclays Asia Trophy.

Indeed, Brad made some fine saves as we lost out to Sunderland and Hugo made one of the saves of the tournament to keep a clean sheet as we ran out 6-0 winners against South China, a full-stretch fingertip to deny Dhiego De Souza Martins in the final minute.

“I’m a fan of our goalkeepers,” said coach Tony.

“They are extremely good professionals. They always do the work properly, always come out to training with a great attitude and want to improve.

“Brad, at 42, still always does the right things. Hugo is France’s captain and always does the right things. Gomes is a magnificent professional.

“The three together have a lot of respect for each other, they push each other on and it’s a joy to work with them.”

Goalkeeping training is notoriously tough and all three were made to sweat in the heat and humidity of Hong Kong.

“What catches you by surprise when you get to Hong Kong and train for the first time is the humidity,” added Tony.

“Goalkeeping training is all about short, sharp bursts of agility, getting up and down and moving their body weight from the ground to the top corner very quickly.

“It was tough for them but fitness-wise, it will pay dividends for the lads.”