Derby County are stepping up their pre-season training as Paul Warne takes his squad to Spain for a week of intense work.
The Rams are preparing for their return to the Championship this season, with plans of building a stable platform in the division.
It requires plenty of work across the whole club, with a summer transfer window that is expected to be busy with incomings and outgoings at Moor Farm.
Derby have already welcomed four new signings, with Ben Osborn, Kayden Jackson, Jerry Yates and Kenzo Goudmijn through the door.
That could soon become five as reports claim that Derby have agreed a deal with Cardiff City over a permanent transfer for Ebou Adams.
With the squad taking shape, pre-season will be important in getting the team fit and sharp enough to hit the ground running.
An opening match against Matlock saw the Rams win 3-0 before they jetted off to Alicante for their training camp.
While they face Stockport County in the next few days, there has been another game take place behind closed doors in the pre-season schedule.
Derby v Academico de Viseu pre-season friendly
The Derby squad managed to get more minutes in their legs on Tuesday, with a behind-closed-doors friendly against Academico de Viseu.
The Portuguese club, based in Viseu, play in the second tier of their country’s football pyramid and finished 11th in an 18-team league.
Much like Derby, the friendly was Academico’s second of their pre-season campaign, having already faced fellow Championship side Oxford United – with the side hailing from Portugal winning the tie 1-0.
In this encounter, according to the outlet Jornal Do Centro, the private match ended 3-1 in favour of Academico.
Daniel Nussbaumer and Simao Silva are credited with the goals for the side from Portugal, while there is no current note of the scorer for Derby.
It inflicts a first defeat of the pre-season for Warne, though the Derby boss will be keen to concentrate on increasing the workload, fitness and testing out some of his tactical ideas.
Next Derby County pre-season fixture
With another game down, the attention will turn to the following match for the Rams in their pre-season fixture list.
Five games are currently scheduled between now and the start of the season, with a clash against Stockport on Friday, July 19th next up.
That match takes place in the Pinatar Arena, hosted in Murcia, Spain, and could see some returns to the squad.
Osborn missed out on the clash with Matlock Town, having been eased back into action after an injury late in the previous season for Sheffield United.
Joe Ward and Conor Washington could both be involved after missing the previous clash too.