The players, almost begrudgingly, moved because positional drills were never fun, and they were right.
It was immediately obvious Dawson hadn't been exaggerating the moment the session began.
The tempo was high from the first exercise, with the coaching staff demanding quicker decisions, sharper pressing and better movement off the ball.
Every time a player switched off, someone was shouting, or someone was being hooked.
Even Leo barely had time to settle with the previous drill before the next one started.
By the end, the players were scattered across the grass, hands on knees and chests rising and falling heavily, while Dawson stood over them.
"I should've done this a lot sooner because it seems some of you still think we're playing international friendlies and can take it easy."
"You can't even keep this up for 90 minutes," Dawson went on as the players began to look towards him.
"The Chelsea game is going to come down to who presses who better. Simple."
