BARCELONA’S dominance in European football can be traced back to Pep Guardiola’s first pre-season training camp, held right here in St Andrews.

Having inherited a team of talented players from Dutchman Frank Rijkaard in 2008, he implemented an intense style of pressing football which seemed at odds with the languid possession-based style the Catalan club were modelling at the time.

It came as some shock to superstars like Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Leo Messi and Thierry Henry, who were suddenly expected not only to keep the ball but also to press high up the pitch and win it back too.

Locals recall Guardiola’s coaching staff screaming “pressure, pressure, pressure” – presumably in their mother tongue – to the bewildered players as Barcelona warmed up for a pre-season friendly against Hibernian nearly a decade ago.

From those humble beginnings, the Tiki Taka style took off. Barcelona won the treble, beating Manchester United in the Champions League final, and football was never the same again.

Nine years later, Wanderers were treading on the same turf, and they too were being urged to pick up the pace.

“Keep up the tempo,” boomed assistant boss Steve Parkin. “Keep the ball moving, don’t slow it down.”

No-one is suggesting for one second that Bolton are going to completely cast off the direct approach which helped them secure promotion from League One last season – but there is some evidence to suggest Phil Parkinson is looking to broaden his horizons.

The Whites boss knows his team will need to think on their feet in a league increasingly populated by inflated transfer fees and budgets.

What his club lacks in spending power, Parkinson is seeking to make up for in organisation and effort – and that stood out a mile on the lush green surfaces of the university yesterday afternoon.

Wanderers eased themselves in with victories over Chorley and Arbroath, blowing away the cobwebs collected in a summer of celebration, but the intensity of their workload is now being gradually raised.

Any let up during the fast-faced, entertaining in-house matches was punished by commander-in-chief Parkin with a round of press-ups.

Parkinson took a watching brief from the side-line, interjecting occasionally, but leaving the constant cajoling and instruction to his trusted right-hand-man.

Out of the pressure, some genuinely attractive football was played and combinations formed, which will hopefully blossom in the friendlies to come.

Chris Taylor continued to impress, looking a different player to the one who left to return to Oldham Athletic last season. Likewise, Darren Pratley looked sharp, finally caught up after some terrifically bad luck with injury last season.

Adam Le Fondre is still firing, David Wheater and Mark Beevers are still heading everything in sight, and Jem Karacan looks to have added a touch more mobility in the middle of the park. Optimism is always high at this time of year but in such pleasant surroundings and with a friendly down the road at Dundee to come tonight, it does not seem misplaced.

Parkinson did work separately with his defenders on shape as Parkin took some shooting drills – acutely aware the kind of strikers he will be coming up against this season will generally be of a different ilk. Wanderers must learn how to cope again with the intelligent runners who will drop off and look to pick holes in a defence which looked impenetrable at times last term.

Whereas the manager was sussing out his players at this stage of last season in the Malmo suburbs of Sweden, this time you got the feeling the squad knew the drill.

New players like Will Buckley, Mark Little and Stephen Darby have come into the mix and appear to have gelled well. And while the discipline remained high - there was still enough time for the players to engage in a game of keep-ups to see who would be buying coffees that afternoon.

It is easy to see why Barcelona and many top clubs are attracted to this part of the world. They certainly know how to keep a good green in this neck of the woods.

Clearly, the golf is a major attraction, and the two sports often go hand-in-hand as a pastime. But the pristine, wide-open university pitches are as good as anything experienced in Scandinavia or mainland Europe in recent seasons and it would not be a surprise to see the Whites return again next summer.