DARREN CAMPBELL, THE former Olympic sprint champion, believes he has what it takes to make Fernando Torres the same explosive goalscorer he was before joining Chelsea.
Campbell won gold for Great Britain in the 4x100m relay in Athens 2004, and says that it would take Torres just two weeks to build up his speed.
The former Liverpool striker has worked with Campbell at Chelsea before. The sprint coach was part of the club’s backroom team before Andre Villas Boas’ ill-fated spell in charge last year.
Campbell, who also works with rugby union players, said: “It’s something that is best done in pre-season but I think Fernando just needs two weeks when he hasn’t got to worry about playing on the Saturday and just put in a nice two-week training programme that I think would definitely bring the majority of his speed back.
“I’m sure I could fix him. It doesn’t have to be a lengthy process because these guys are already extremely fit. That’s the great thing about working with footballers and rugby players. You’re not having to worry about the base fitness so you just go in and teach the raw speed.
“In the case of Fernando, I think he would also probably need to do a bit of weightlifting as well as the running and the speed drills to put some power back into his muscles. That’s why sprinters lift weights, to gain that explosive speed and power.”
Torres is expected to lead the Blues’ attack on Saturday against West Ham. The 28-year-old has previously scored six times against Sam Allardyce’s side, but has not found the net in the league since the 4-1 win over Norwich City on October 6.
