It's come around all too quickly, the final day of the 2016 pre-season training camp. The day started in a similar fashion to the preceding five, albeit with a slightly tighter schedule being that we were due to depart for the airport directly after lunch. The training was as intense as ever though as Dean and Richard put the players through their paces. But you could almost feel the sense of relief from the players as the final ball was kicked and the training had come to a halt. However it was evident from all that I spoke to how much they had enjoyed the week's experience and what a crucial part it would play going forward, whether physically, mentally and equally as important, as a bonding exercise.

After dinner it was time to pack and get ready to depart. The van was loaded with the training gear and apparatus and generally as much as could be reasonably stacked for the nine or 10 hour journey back to dear ol' Blighty. Whilst Bob and Neil Greig shared the journey out, the driving this time fell to Physio Daryl Martin and Masseur Chris Domoney.

The journey by coach back to Dusseldorf Airport took about two hours whilst the journey through immigration and customs was painless. The flight itself was delayed by thirty minutes and we finally touched down in Heathrow at around 7.30pm.

As we walked through Arrivals on route to catching the coach back to the Training Ground, I had one player come up to me and tell me that he had left the perfume he had bought for his partner on the plane. Whoops! I'm now intrigued to know if she believed him when he got home.

However there was a happier ending, almost a day later, for another who left his laptop on the plane. Happier inasmuch as another of our party saw it lying there, picked it up and looked after it until the owner had realised what was missing, albeit the following afternoon!

So that was it for another year, and the proof of the pudding will be in the eating, over the course of the next nine months.

My take on the week, for what it's worth. The training facilities were superb with two excellent pitches available to us, as and when required, plus a well equipped gymnasium. Not to mention as many bikes as were needed. The hospitality was first class with very comfortable accommodation and leisure areas, whilst the catering at each meal time was well presented and plentiful with friendly staff always on hand to assist. Even the laundry service was as good as you can get, for training and coaching wear was washed and laundered after every session.

The location was perfect as the weather was more in keeping with what you would expect back home. From a Bees perspective nothing was left to chance with the medical and conditioning staff always on hand to attend to any injury, ailment etc.

Prior to departure, the feedback from the sport hotel's staff was a credit to all there representing Brentford Football Club. The groundsman said that the club was the best he had worked with re the state in which the pitches were left after every session whilst our main contact throughout commented prior to departure that Brentford had been the politest and best behaved of any teams she had worked with.

Win, win all round.