It’s been a great season on the pitch for Leicester’s two biggest sports teams. Tigers have finished top of the pile in the Guinness Premiership and are on great form going into the play-offs, whilst Leicester City are just two games away from Wembley after sealing fifth place in the Championship.

The coaches and management at both clubs have been influential with their backroom staff, including dieticians and nutritionists, playing their part to ensure the players have the right fuel on board to succeed on the pitch.

The UK’s leading retailer of vitamins, minerals and herbal supplements, Holland and Barrett, are the official sports nutrition supplier to Leicester City and the official whole-foods and wellbeing supplier to Leicester Tigers.

Last week players from both clubs visited one of the company’s city centre stores, inside the Haymarket shopping centre, to meet with staff and fans, and sign autographs and pose for pictures.

Two of Tigers’ England internationals, Tom Croft and Jordan Crane tackled the store on Thursday with Leicester City captain Matt Oakley and experienced striker Steve Howard dropping by on Friday.

Tom Croft talked about his eating habits building up to a game, including a pre-match Italian with a few of his team-mates.

“Generally I eat as much fresh produce as possible throughout the week. Getting closer to the game, normally starting on Thursday and Friday, I try to stay away from fatty foods and eat lean meats and vegetables. I’m not too bad with carbohydrates as my metabolism is fairly high.

“The day before the game, I’d probably go for a carbonara and get a couple of the boys round. Geordan Murphy and Jordan Crane enjoy that as well. The morning of the game I have as big a breakfast as I can possibly stomach and half an hour before a bit of porridge, then hydration is key.

“After the game, you tend to have a Chinese or an Indian as a little treat for yourself. Obviously you can’t go stupid but it’s a nice thing to have after the game as a little treat, to de-stress and have something that little bit easier.”

Jordan Crane has slightly different eating habits on the day of a game and revealed what he snacks on and the diet plans the players work from.

“Before a game I have a routine of having the same breakfast of poached eggs on toast and I’ll have a pasta dish later on. Obviously you have your daily supplements building up to the game, like dried fruits to snack on, as well.

“We have a nutritionist for each player and they keep an eye on everything. They have a plan of what you need to be doing and taking. It’s all pretty strict and we get our body fat tested every week, so everybody knows who’s slacking off.”

Tom explained which supplements he uses and why.

“We have a pre-game supplement which is supplied by the club from Holland and Barrett and that’s pretty much it. It’s not an overly complicated formula, it’s just about getting as much quality produce on board as possible and making sure you’re going for the right areas and not eating fatty foods.

“I use things like fish oils, multi-vits and I use one quite a bit for joint care, which I think is glucosamine. Nothing too weird and wonderful that will make you quicker or bigger, just general supplements used to help keep your body fats down, reduce inflammation and for general health. Glucosamine helps keep your bones strong and hopefully prolong your career.”

Jordan also takes a few supplements and is a big fan of the dried fruits and nuts.

“I don’t take too many supplements, just the ones that I need really. Krill oil and green tea extract and things like that, and the dried fruits and nuts that Holland and Barrett supply. It’s great for keeping the metabolism going.”

Crane doesn’t really use anything to help his body recover after a match and sees one of the more old fashioned remedies as the best tool to treat bumps and bruises.

“I just use ice for knocks after the game. I don’t think there are many things you can take to help with that. At the start of the season you feel everything in the first few games and then the more you play, the less it hurts.”

Tom agreed but explained how some of the players use different supplements to help deal with their knocks.

“Some boys will have the green teas and the fish oils to help with inflammation, personally I don’t really use anything to deal with the knocks and bruises after a game. I think if you get a knock or an injury, ice and rest is probably the best thing you can do.”

Leicester City skipper Matt Oakley provided an insight into how supplements have become a big part of the footballers’ pre-match preparations.

“During the week we take supplements before training which helps us increase our metabolism and burn fat. Then after training we drink protein shakes to repair the muscles. It’s definitely benefited me, I’m 33 this year and I feel fitter than I’ve ever done. Using all the tablets, supplements and shakes is something that I’m going to keep on doing.”

The energetic midfielder revealed how things have changed since he made the breakthrough as a teenager at Southampton in the early 1990’s and how more refined nutrition and health advice has helped to prolong his career.

“When I first started it was a lot of focus on eating pasta before games. Now we have a doctor that comes in and tests our body fat and keeps it at certain levels. He says you have to get it to a certain level two days before a game, that’s when you’re taking on your carbohydrates and then, the day before a game, you don’t really need to be taking it.

“It’s strange because as I’ve gone through my career, my whole diet has flipped on its head. If you eat carbohydrates at night then you’re storing it as fat, so you’re going to be carrying weight during games. I enjoy what they give to us and obviously there’s some stuff that I don’t do, but 90% of it I do.

“Once you start seeing the benefits of it and start shedding body fat and turning it into muscle, you can see it in your body composition and it gives you that little bit of confidence.”

Also into his 30’s, Steve Howard has seen a lot of changes to how players prepare for games during his career.

“It’s a massive part of it now. When I first started if someone mentioned supplements then people would look at you a bit strange but now it is part and parcel of it. If you don’t take supplements then you are losing that vital edge.

“You take supplements during the week so that you can get your body tuned up. Without a doubt you feel that benefit. If it’s all legal and safe and it gives you that extra edge, then why not?”

Howard also paid tribute to manager Nigel Pearson and the backroom staff he’s brought to the club for the work being done on the player’s nutrition.

“We’ve got sports scientist guys at the club who put together a certain programme for you and away you go. He’s has brought in a good team, the gaffer, with a lot of guys that know their stuff. It’s nice that they’re as professional as they are to get the programmes right.”

For more information on Holland and Barrett visit www.hollandandbarrett.com