THERE is always a very fine line between success and failure.

As such, and as I talked about last week when I detailed our match-day arrangements, preparation can be vital.

As we do everything possible in the quest for improvement, the smallest detail can have far reaching effects as underlined by some of the goings on at Bootham Crescent this week.

The first concerned Gary Hobson, who this week saw a specialist in a bid to cure his nagging injury niggles.

You may recall, Gary played in a reserve team game a couple of weeks ago as he made his way back from injury only to then see an Achilles problem flare-up.

Once that settled down, Gary was able to return to training but then started to complain about a soreness on the inside of his knee.

Obviously, with his knee problems of last year still fresh in the memory, it was a concern to us and we started looking at the way his feet were striking the floor.

It looked as if his foot was 'rolling in' and so we booked him an appointment with podiatrist Steve Bloor.

Steve carried out some biomechanical assessments which measure the angle of the foot striking the floor and can determine whether it is that which is causing the strain on the Achilles and the pain in Gary's knee.

At the time of writing this column we are still awaiting the results.

But if it is proven that there is a problem with Gary's gait then Steve will have some specially designed insoles made for Gary's boots.

Known as orthotics, these insoles will be made specifically for Gary and he will have to wear them for the rest of his footballing career.

I would estimate something like 40 per cent of York City players already chose to wear them.

At Manchester United I would imagine every player wears them.

Everyone is just looking for that extra percent that will give them that added advantage, no matter how small.

Linked to how we have turned to science and expert help to solve Gary's problems, we also took steps to further improve the players' diets this week.

As I mentioned last week, we already carefully monitor what the players eat. Gone are the days of steak dinners before a game, with players instead loading up on carbohydrates like pasta and potatoes. However, there are new theories on diets developing all the time and we are keen to stay ahead of the game.

We therefore had a nutritionist visit the club and give a talk to the players.

Alan Fothergill, who has worked with Sheffield United in the past, is a specialist in diet and nutrition for sportsmen and women.

We have changed a few things in terms of diet for the players as the season has progressed but as we have been changing things the players have been wanting to know more.

They are keen to help themselves and want to know about anything that can improve them and help further their careers.

That the players take their preparations so seriously is obviously good news for me but, of course, we couldn't provide them with all the answers so invited Alan to come and give his talk. He touched on a lot of areas, in particular it was interesting to hear as to how long before a game players should eat their pre-match meals.

As I said last week, we have been eating at 11.30am but Alan recommended we should be eating between noon and 12.30pm.

It was particularly interesting to hear chicken, which some of the players do eat before a game, is not necessarily a good idea so that will be knocked on the head.

The players also learned about their recommended water intake and over the next few weeks we will be carrying out tests to draw up individual formulas as every player is different.

It is all very different to when I was a player but everything moves on and you have got to move with the times.

Anything, no matter how small, that can enhance performance and add to our armoury we have to look at.