With temperatures in Malta soaring to 30 degrees, the Sheffield United players found a novel way of keeping themselves cool during one of their allocated rest periods. Jumping off a James Bond powerboat for a dip in the secluded bay of St Paul’s bay certainly acted as the perfect reward after the demanding training session yesterday.

During last year’s pre-season tour of Malta, many of the players had enjoyed being taken around some of island’s idyllic coast line in the ‘Sunseeker Experience Malta’ powerboats that have previously featured in the James Bond movies ‘Never Say Never’ and ‘Quantum of Solace’. Word had quickly spread around the Blades training camp that a James Bond remake was on the cards.

The James Bond Sunseekers had docked in the Portomaso Marina to pick up the Blades squad. With the likes of Chris Morgan, Jamie Ward and Nick Montgomery onboard, the boats powered into full throttle for a whistle-stop spin around some the island’s most stunning hotspots.

The highlight of the trip was a stop-off at the Maltese coast of St Paul’s Bay, which is a popular location for scuba diving enthusiasts. Without any hesitation all the players enjoyed diving into the Med for a refreshing swim.

Nick Montgomery said: “For the lads this is the best part of the trip. Those of us that came last year thoroughly enjoyed the powerboat trip and we told the new ones that this would be something that they would not forget. They were not disappointed!”