Paul Warne has shared how Derby County’s squad and staff worked on building stronger connections during their pre-season trip to Spain. As the Rams head coach, Warne took his players to Alicante for a week of rigorous training in preparation for their Championship opener against Blackburn on August 9. The team endured intense training sessions during the day in the high temperatures, while the evenings were reserved for relaxation.

During the trip, Warne introduced a unique team-building exercise focused on the “four Hs” – heartbreak, hopes, history, and heroes. Each member of the team was asked to prepare a talk on these topics, allowing their teammates to gain a deeper understanding of what drives and defines them.

Warne explained, “I changed it this year from why we were playing to the 4Hs: hero, heartbreak, history, and hopes. You could talk for one minute or an hour – it made no difference. There were a lot of heartbreaks. I’m not going to discuss them, but there were a lot of things that happened in the past that people are proud of or not. They spoke about their hopes, be it personal, for family, or football.”

Warne shared his personal hopes and heartbreaks as well. He expressed a desire to be kinder to himself and wished for his team to perform their best, regardless of where they finish in the league standings. Reflecting on his own heartbreak, Warne recounted, “I went for a trial when I was 15 at Norwich. I trained for two days. They said they’d phone me over the weekend and to come back on Monday. I never got a phone call, and I was heartbroken. All my family were Norwich fans, and everyone was excited. That stuck with me for years and knocked me massively.”

This exercise aimed to foster a deeper bond among the squad members as they gear up for the new season, helping them understand each other on a more personal level.