The Whites will take on Brisbane Roar, Aston Villa and Crystal Palace while down under and will return to host Cagliari a week before kicking off the new season.
Given it was a trip that takes over 28 hours via flight without any stopovers, jet lag is a major worry for the squad as Bamford confirmed that a good many players were wide awake when they ought to have been asleep.
He further noted that there were messages doing the rounds at five in the morning in the group chat.
“One message went into the group chat at like five in the morning, ‘anyone up’ and about 16 players replied, so it’s tough but I think once we stay up through today and go to bed normal time tonight, it’ll be alright”, Bamford told Leeds Live.
Bamford reiterated that the main reason for their presence in that corner of the world was for the squad to gain some fitness ahead of the new campaign.
“We know we’ve not come here on holiday. Obviously it’s a pre-season tour so the main aim is to get fitness”, he added.
“There are added benefits to being in a place like this as well.
“But as I said, the main reason here is to get fit.”
Bamford will look to improve on his numbers from an injury-ridden season and recapture the form he displayed in the Whites’ first season back in the Premier League following a 16-year absence.
The hope is for a good pre-season to set the tone for Jesse Marsch’s first full season in charge and all the players will be hoping to make a good impression on the American.
