INTERNATIONAL BREAK IS NO BREAK FOR A STRUGGLING MANAGER... IT’S A WORRY!

THREE defeats for Bournemouth, Crystal Palace and West Ham and the early international break arrives. I’ve heard already that it’s a two-week ‘break’ from the Premier League that gives a manager a chance to work on the training ground and to right the wrongs of a poor start. Rubbish! You can only work with your non-internationals so you can’t work with your bighitters. You can’t work on shape or pattern of play, you can’t get any crucial work completed. You’re left kicking your heels, stewing, reflecting, winding yourself up, basically. Before you play again, you might only get two sessions with your group all together. In the meantime, you drive yourself mad double-checking where your players are, the results of their games, the time zones they are in, the flights they have booked and if they make those flights. It’s not a break — it’s a worry! Then some come back happy because they’ve won a game or played well and others come back with the raging hump that does nothing to lighten the mood in the camp.