THE enthusiasm, commitment and effort are inspiring.

"C'mon Antti!" yells David Coles. "It's the final minute, Alan Shearer's headed it.

"C'mon, c'mon, make it!"

Antti Niemi scrambles back, leaps through the air and tips the ball onto the cross-bar.

"Great save!" cries Coles.

"Now once more - get up, c'mon, c'mon, it's Michael Owen!" Niemi springs to his feet, flings himself back into the air and makes another breathtaking save.

He then collapses into the goal. The big man is exhausted.

"Right," says Coles. "Quick rest, then three more sets."

Niemi gives the Southampton goalkeeping coach a long, cold stare, before smiling: "Can we at least wait until my heart-rate gets below 180?"

Coles laughs, but ignores him. "In the goal," he demands a few seconds later.

"Now touch your left post before every save. And it's 15 press-ups for every one you let in."

Coles then proceeds to kick shots out of his hands from a distance of ten yards as Niemi flings himself to keep the ball out, before scrambling to his feet, touching the far post, and pulling off yet another amazing stop.

Three go in, but Coles accepts he 'went early' once. This means the shot was impossible for even a superman goalkeeper to save.

The duo settle on 30 press ups. Niemi mutters a few choice words about his trainer, pretends he is not going to do them, before completing the punishment.

But they're not normal press-ups - Saints' Player of the Season does his with hands balanced on a pair of footballs.

Every Premiership fan can recall a Niemi 'wonder-save'.

But the privilege of watching him train makes you realise that he actually produces dozens of similar or better stops every day in preparation for what might be a single, sudden moment in a 90 minute match.

"He still surprises me. There is never a day when I don't think 'wow, how's he got to that'," Coles admits.

"In training he is phenomenal. It is an ego thing to him. He really believes he shouldn't let in goals.

"If he does, he has got that mechanism to say 'that's gone'. He doesn't get fazed by anything, he just gets into what else he should be doing.

"He is in the moment all the time and I'm preparing him for that moment and you never know when it might come.

"Antti could have nothing to do for 89 minutes in a game and all of a sudden he has to produce a world-class save.

"Those two seconds in his life are the most important in that game and he has to be ready."

Coles likens the job of goalkeeping to being a boxer, with hours and hours of preparation all designed to make you ready for a spilt-second moment.

"Goalkeeping is an extremely pressured job," he says.

"He can make four or five world class saves, but he can make one mistake and everyone remembers it.

"If a forward misses a goal, the crowd usually chant his name. The goalkeeper makes a mistake and the first thing you hear is moans and groans."

The training I watch is apparently Niemi and second choice 'keeper Alan Blayney's weekly 'hard' session.

What they do is physically quite frightening, with an emphasis on producing and reproducing explosive power.

"Pre-season is a fantastic time to condition the goalkeepers," explains Coles.

"If you do it too near a game it takes the legs out of them. A goalkeeper is not aerobic, it is anaerobic.

"Everything is power- based. Short, sharp bursts. Everything we do relates to what the goalkeeper does during a game.

"If you imagine someone like Shearer or Henry, they hit the ball so quick, the goalkeeper has to make that adjustment with his feet to power off with a save.

"You want that minimal bounce before they land and take off. It's trying to get that precise moment right, so as soon as they hit the ground they explode into the ball."

Coles believes that the key difference between the 'good' and 'great' goalkeepers is attention to all aspects of their game, from dealing with back passes and kicking to coming for crosses and being psychologically strong.

"Most goalkeepers nowadays can make saves," he says. "It's the other parts of the game.

"It is about identifying the mistakes, correcting the mistakes. Building on the strengths and working on the weaknesses.

"The mental preparation is as important as the physical side."

Speak to any of the goalkeepers at Saints and what they so appreciate is the variety in their training.

No session is the same and, despite the occasional grumble, you can tell they are enjoying themselves.

"I think every morning should be a test of their ability and of my coaching," says Coles.

"I try and make everything different. It keeps them on their toes and it educates their body to work in different ways. That stimulates the brain and works other muscles."

As it has been his most gruelling session of the week, Niemi is allowed to sit out the final practice match, meaning Coles and Alan Blayney take up position for the two teams.

Niemi sits on the touchline and looks oblivious to the action, except for what is going on in one goalmouth.

It is only a training exercise, but he is watching everything Coles does.

Kevin Phillips descends on goal, but his mentor pulls off a fine point-blank stop.

A genuinely excited Niemi rises to his feet to cheer. "Well done Colesy, great save," he shouts.

It's a moment which tells you everything about the strength of the Southampton goalkeeping union.

Read more on Saints' goalkeeping coach David Coles and his views on Niemi and the other goalkeepers at the club in today's Daily Echo.