Tim's Diary - Friday

Tim Howard's latest addition to his diary.

The lads are settling into our Denver base now and are training hard.

The Dick’s Sporting Goods stadium is typically American. It’s only about two years old and the pitch was perfect.

It was very hot on the pitch – somebody said it was in the early 100 degrees and I can well believe it.

After the training we had our first ice baths of the trip.

These are basically large containers filled with freezing cold water for us to sit in when the sessions are over.

And just to make sure they have the desired affect, the fitness coaches drop large blocks of ice into the water!

It’s very, very cold but it’s good for the muscles and it can be a bit of relief from the intense heat.

There was another press conference to attend before we left the stadium.

Myself, Phil and the boss had to sit in front of the US media to speak about the match against the Rapids on Sunday.

We were joined by the Rapids coach and Terry Cooke who, like Phil and me, is a former Manchester United player.

The boss then gave the lads the rest of the day off, so it was back to the mall for some more shopping.