Break time can deliver big benefit

IT’S VITAL TO USE IT WELL

NOT many football supporters enjoy an international break. But for managers in the EFL, they can be very handy.

I remember my second season at Bolton Wanderers, just after we’d won promotion to the Championship.

We were still under a transfer embargo. We’d got two points from 11 games. But those sanctions actually lifted right at the start of the October international break, which allowed us to sign Karl Henry and a few other experienced players.

First Saturday back, we won our first game of the season, went on a good run and ended up staying in the division. For us, that two-week break was pivotal to our season.

Pivotal

How to use that window is a big topic of discussion amongst managers. When the final whistles blew last weekend, I guarantee everyone would have been asking each other what they were planning.

For all of us, it’s about striking a balance between giving the players a bit of rest and not losing match sharpness.

In the Championship, especially, the physical demands on the players are extreme. Every game, you need to instil a tactical structure and a game plan that will hopefully beat the opposition.

But, at the same time, you don’t want to be on the training ground for hours and hours, which can leave the lads down on energy when it comes to a Saturday afternoon or Tuesday night.

Getting that right occupies all your mental energy, so the international break offers a good chance to get your staff together, step back and look at the bigger picture.

You can do a bit of analysis, evaluate what you are doing well and what needs improvement. On the spare weekend you might even go away for a few days.

As for the players, that largely depends on the make-up of your squad. If you’re a Premier League club with a lot of internationals, the chances are your training ground will be deserted anyway.

If you’ve got a lot of foreign players, a lot of managers will give them a chance to fly home and see their families.

In the October break, rest isn’t too important. You’ve only played ten or 11 games. I’d incline towards keeping my players sharp. By November, with a packed Christmas schedule on the horizon, it’s a different story.

Sharp

I know a manager in the Premiership who always makes the same promise to his players every pre-season. He says ‘No matter where we are in the table and no matter how we are playing, you will all get five days off during the November break’.

They can book a holiday, take their families away. It’s a good idea because they know that rest period is coming. Does that carry risks? Yes.

Prior to me going to Bolton, the team was struggling and the manager gave the players some time off. He told them not to go abroad, but a few did anyway and were pictured on social media. It didn’t go down well with supporters, and you have to factor that in.

If results aren’t going well, you don’t want to risk inflaming the situation. But you also have to trust the players and, 99 per cent of the time, they won’t let you down.