Mark Bowen expects no shirkers at Manchester City during this preseason.

Speaking from their southern German training camp, City's assistant manager told the club's website: "It is a great chance for us to get to know the players as people and vice-versa.

"All the sports science people, the masseurs, fitness coaches and physios are here too and it is great to get their input and for them to hear and see how we approach things."

Along with Bowen, Eddie Niedzwiecki and Kevin Hitchcock have followed Manager Mark Hughes from Blackburn and the backroom unit proved formidable at Ewood Park, so it that something Mark aims to repeat with the Blues - starting with their German 'boot camp?'

"It is not fair to call the trip a boot camp, but it would be correct to say we have come here to work hard, very hard," he stated.

"The Manager's philosophy is that you have to be able to run in order to win football matches in the Premier League. All the skill in the world is no use to you if you cannot match the opposition for pace and movement.

"We took great pride in the fact that the statistics showed that there was no fitter team in the Premier League than Blackburn and we aim to make sure that is the case with City.

"The knowledge that they had that edge over the opposition gave our lads great confidence to go on and win tight games. We will be asking for a bit more from all of the squad here."

As for the pre-season trip, Bowen concluded: "We have a fabulous picture postcard as a backdrop to our work - when it's not pouring down - and we know from coming here with Blackburn what the benefits of being together for 10 days or so are.

"It is not a case of flogging the players to death, when the weather allows all the work is done with a football and in small sided sessions and then we chuck them in the lake or the iced stream up the mountain side!"