''We have to prepare well for the tournament in Coleraine, since the lads will be facing some big guns, such as the youth sides of Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and other top sides from Europe and both the USA and South America,'' director of coaching Neil Mackenzie said.
Mackenzie, who has been masterminding the Milk Cup team's efforts for more than a decade, said fitness had been a priority.
The squad has been doing before-school gym sessions, but ''getting all the lads together in camp, for functional training on the grass at Ellis Park, certainly helps our team shape and organisation,'' he said.
''The weather was not too kind, and we appreciate the help from Roslyn-Wakari in being able to use their gym, but getting out in the sleet and snow is character-building, too, and you need to be tough mentally for an international tournament.''
Actual matches are also important, and Football South has encouraged senior clubs in the seven-team Premier League to play against the Milk Cup squad on Sundays, when it is their bye weekend.
Tomorrow, University will field a team against the youngsters at Bayfield Park.
The match will be treated as a serious contest with match officials.
The fixtures will help senior sides have some continuity, instead of having a weekend off, and most clubs will also introduce a sprinkling of younger players to assess their own playing depth.
University sides are usually also quite young, and Varsity coach Darren Hart will appreciate the run after his side lost 3-1 last week to Caversham.
Caversham will look to maintain its unbeaten momentum today when it plays Dunedin Technical, which lost last week to Mosgiel.
Caversham has dominated the FPL for several years, and while Technical was regarded as a serious challenger, coach Aaron Burgess knows another loss would create a difficult gap to overcome.
Mosgiel has recruited well for this season, and the addition of midfielder Eder Franchini Pasten and goalkeeper Zane Green to national league calibre players such as Morgan Day and Regan Coldicott gives a hard core to the Plainsmen.
Northern faces Mosgiel at Forrester Park, and the game can not come soon enough for coach Murray Devereux, whose Northern side has made a nightmare start.
The Magpies have scored only one goal in three games and conceded 18, so tightening the defence will have been a priority at Northern training this week.
Colin Thom's Roslyn side is under no illusions, despite last week's 9-0 win, and will respect the fact Green Island also has been scoring freely, so the game at Sunnyvale could be a high-scoring affair.
Island coach Malcolm Fleming has his mobile young side well organised, and gets numbers forward in attack.
Thom dropped former Kiev professional Patrick Ebanda into central defence, and at the sharp end, Roslyn gets bodies forward, notably Isaac Nicholson, Blair Bates and Damo Foster.
Six is the critical number - Technical, Caversham and Mosgiel all have six points, but that will change after today.
