For those on the cusp of breaking into senior football, however, conditions are in a state of flux.
They are, arguably, worse than before work began in summer 2024, with the under-21s and U18s set to be housed in temporary cabins in the players’ car park as no plans were made for their inclusion in the revamped complex.
In the old setup, those two age-group teams had their own ground-floor dressing room, close to the first team’s. They also had a treatment room down the corridor to the senior medics department, and would share social areas with senior players, including in the canteen. Academy staff had office space upstairs, again near the first team, facilitating conversations with the manager and executives.
Those designing the new main building decided to cut that association, the aim being to make the first-team facilities an area players must aspire to enter.
Instead, they included two dressing rooms set aside for emerging talent, holding 10 spots between them. These are intended for young players who are in the first team, or those from the academy who are training with Ruben Amorim’s squad. Generally, two players are chosen to join every session: in the past week this has included Shea Lacey, Jim Thwaites, Tyler Fletcher, Jayden Ngwashi and Daniel Armer. They eat with the first team whenever they train alongside them.
