Dr James Malone – Senior Lecturer in Coaching Science

Football is a multifactorial, complex sport that requires high levels of technical, tactical, physical and psycho-social qualities1. Successful match performance is highly dependent on the interaction between these factors2. Interestingly, although technical-tactical performance (TP) are considered decisive for success in football, physical performance (quantified by running performance (RP) such as total distances covered in various speed zones) are more commonly investigated3,4. The interest in RP has led to practitioners emphasizing the importance of high- intensity running when designing training programmes in order to enhance overall performance. However, the current research remains equivocal regarding the high-intensity distance covered and success in football. For example, some research has demonstrated that football players perform significantly lower amounts of high-intensity running when winning than when compared to losing situations5–8. Conversely, other studies report no differences in high- intensity running regardless of the match outcome9–11.