Kevin Stewart on Ice Baths and Brazilian Victory Naps

Most away trips for a football club are all about the destination, the game at the end of it. It’s a routine that doesn’t have much downtime to it, and one Kevin Stewart has gotten used to over the years, which is why he and some of his teammates headed to La Manga not knowing quite what to expect.

“It was different to a normal trip away,” noted the holding midfielder. “We definitely got closer as a team. We did a lot of team building stuff and just spending time together was really good. There was a lot of fun and games but I think there was a decent balance with hard work too.”

There was also some time for ice baths, as Stewart found himself on the losing end of the five-a-side tournament held to cap off the training camp and was tossed into an ice cold pool along with Sadio Mané, Adam Lallana, Ragnar Klavan, and Nathaniel Clyne as punishment.

On the less punishing side of things, Stewart learned that Philippe Coutinho makes for a decent roommate. Mostly on account of the fact that he spent much of his time at the resort on Spain’s souther coast sleeping, which would seem likely to make just about anyone easier to get along with.

“I was rooming with Coutinho,” Stewart, who identified a great siesta divide between the English and South American contingent, said. “I discovered that he sleeps a lot! No snoring but he does love his sleep. All the South American and Spanish lads seem to.”

Stewart didn’t say if he intends to try to steal a page from Coutinho and Liverpool’s other South American players by working more naps into his training routine going forward.