Inside the summer revamp that made Cambridge United 'a different animal': AI, drones and state-of-the-art facilities, Neil Harris' set-piece trick and 'Millwallification'

A drone flies over the Cambridge suburbs and captures Neil Harris in the thick of things. It has been filming all of Cambridge United's drills this summer, and right now the man in its sights is Harris’ assistant Adam Barrett, who is running through a shooting drill with the squad's attackers.

The drone is not the only one getting a unique perspective on a club that is still hurting from last season's relegation, as their four-year stay in League One came to an end.

Mail Sport has been invited to peak behind the curtain at Cambridge's picturesque training ground, and the atmosphere is a marked change from the darker days towards the end of last season. 

The spark for a lot of that change was a squad overhaul at the Abbey Stadium, with 11 players released and nine coming through the door. There have also been public pronouncements from Harris, director of football Mark Bonner and even majority shareholder Paul Barry about the need for a rebuild and culture change following a difficult period.

Harris, who has also coached Millwall (twice), Cardiff and Gillingham, returned for a second spell as boss in mid-February when he replaced Garry Monk, but was up against it from the start with the Us bottom of League One.

Four wins in 15 games was not enough and Cambridge's relegation was confirmed on the campaign’s penultimate weekend.

The 48-year-old promised his side would become a ‘completely different animal’, and after an intense few months, there is a feeling among the squad that they need to make amends.

‘Last season was really disappointing,’ says James Brophy, a long-serving winger with more than 200 Cambridge appearances to his name. ‘When you look at how many games we lost by one goal, maybe there was a lack of mentality in terms of getting over the line or getting a result.

‘There's definitely been a clear shift this year in regards to the aims and focus of where we want to be.’

‘Pre-season has been good,’ adds defender Kelland Watts. ‘It’s always a task when lots of players leave and new ones come in. But every lad that has arrived has been positive on and off the pitch and the new group is blending together.’

That transfer business has been a big factor in a much-needed refresh after Cambridge won only nine games and scored 45 goals in 2024-25.

A mix of youth and experience has come through the door, with Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu (31), Dom Ball (29), Ben Purrington (29), Jake Eastwood (28), Shane McLoughlin (28) and Louis Appere (26) alongside Ben Hughes (21), Zak Bradshaw (21) and Ben Knight (21).

‘It's a place you want to be,’ explains Ball, who made his professional debut for Cambridge on loan from Tottenham at the age of 19 in 2015. ‘It's somewhere you can improve and to have these facilities at this level is important. We’re starting to build those connections and there are a lot of good things going on, but we need to keep developing in every area.’

It is clear Harris, a highly respected EFL boss who has overseen almost 500 matches, has pulling power too, as is the work Cambridge are doing off the pitch, which includes developing their stadium.

‘This is a really good club that is building something,’ adds Ball, who left Leyton Orient earlier this summer. ‘Having talked to the manager I was very much sold. I feel I’ve got loads of games in me and I want to be an influential part of the club.’

Ball, Watts and Brophy are speaking from an outside decking area at Cambridge’s state-of-the-art training facility which cost £3.5m. It was opened less than two years ago and is a major upgrade on the previous base on the same site.

Having been stationed in a dated cricket pavilion where there wasn’t enough space for the whole squad to fit at the same time, the new open-plan changing rooms are spacious, while they are designed to create a community feel.

Elsewhere, analysis was once done on a laptop that was placed on the top of an upside down bin, but a small auditorium now houses this. The club chef even had to cook food at Cambridge’s stadium before driving over, often at rush hour, yet a fresh kitchen is also on site, as is a well-equipped gym.

Photos of memorable moments from the club’s recent history, along with picturesque shots of the city are dotted around, aimed at connecting the squad with the community and providing motivation.

Other inspirational tools have been introduced by Harris in the form of a clean sheet and set-piece goals board, where photos of either are added once they are achieved.

Players similarly wear WHOOP bands and GPS vests were used and monitored during the off-season for the first time.

This week Cambridge became the first professional club to publicly announce a partnership with an AI company to manage contracts.

The agreement, which is with legal-tech pioneer Genie AI, who are based in the city, means AI will be used to draft and review contracts, not only for players, but also for employees and commercial agreements, which the club say will reduce legal spend and speed up dealmaking.

It's definitely one to keep an eye on - and Genie AI have pledged to share results of the partnership later this season.

Fitness is overseen by head of performance Laurence Bloom, one of several staff members, like Harris, to have worked at Millwall.

Assistant Barrett joined this summer having left the Den in December and Nick Tyler-Hicks made the move as head of recruitment. Even one member of the club’s marketing staff was at Millwall, prompting speculation of a 'Millwallfication' in Cambridgeshire and Harris is certainly stamping his mark.

‘He’s been brilliant,’ Ball says. ‘He's very honest. When things are good, he'll say it, and when things are not, he'll make it known. He's always looking to improve standards.'

Brophy adds: ‘When he came in halfway through last season, it’s hard to get your tactical points across. We’re now getting much more of an insight into what he wants as a team, what he wants us to look like and how he wants to play.’

Harris’ reputation as an organiser and taskmaster is echoed by Watts, who is under no illusions at what is required.

‘There's no grey areas with him,’ he says. ‘He doesn't ask you to do something you can't do and everyone sticks to what he says.’

It promises to be an open League Two in 2025-26 and Cambridge will have hopes of bouncing back to League One at the first attempt.

After a rigorous pre-season schedule that has seen them play five official games - plus a few behind-closed-doors friendlies - and embark on a training camp in south Wales, the mood is one of anticipation ahead of Saturday's opener at home to Cheltenham.

‘Quietly that will be our aim (promotion),’ says Ball. ‘But we don’t need to look at that at this stage and it doesn’t need to be discussed. As long as we improve as a team, pick up results and build the culture and belief, we should be where we need to be.’

For Brophy, who joined from Orient in 2021, the challenge of competing at the top of the division is one he is relishing. ‘The club had huge success going up to League One,’ he says. ’They had a really good first year and then the next couple of years we were battling to stay up.

‘There’s a different mentality now because before we were a small club in a bigger division with maybe a David and Goliath mentality. This year the aim is to feel like we are one of the bigger clubs competing at the upper end.

'We’re on an equal footing to every team and we’re going to go into games feeling we should win most of them.’

Managerial churn never stops

A much-discussed topic in this column is the brutal nature of life in the EFL dugout and things will be no different come the start of the campaign.

Heading into 2025-26, no fewer than 16 managers are embarking on their first games in charge of clubs, the latest being Henrik Pedersen at Sheffield Wednesday after he was confirmed as Danny Rohl's replacement on Thursday morning.

No doubt the likes of Will Still at Southampton, Ryan Mason at West Brom and Lee Grant at Huddersfield will garner the most interest, but keep an eye on Martin Paterson at Notts County.

Upon the appointment of the former Burton Albion boss, the Magpies announced a new-look technical committee that includes the club’s owners, director of football, director of performance along with Paterson and his coaching staff.

Together, the committee are expected to influence how the club operates at every level, from team selection and tactics to recruitment, which is certainly a unique formula.