The schedule has been horrendous! – Eustace
JOHN Eustace has welcomed Blues’ mid-season break after what he describes as an ‘horrendous’ schedule and also revealed his plans for the coming month.
Blues signed off a spell of 11 matches in 41 days with a disappointing 2-1 home defeat to Sunderland last Friday – and now have three weeks before they resume their Championship campaign.
Eustace, who is not planning to take any time off himself, says his players are having a much-needed rest before reconvening at Wast Hills next Monday – giving them a fortnight before the trip to Blackpool on December 10.
While some clubs are heading overseas for warm-weather training, Blues are not, although they are trying to arrange a couple of behindclosed-doors matches.
“The players will have a week off with their families then they will have a two-week build-up until the Blackpool game,” Eustace told the Birmingham Post.
“Everyone will be ready for that, it will be a really good few weeks, there will be no slacking off at all. It will be all preparing for that Blackpool game.
“We have a very difficult first game back so I don’t think it would benefit us being on Marbella’s beach.
“They go away with programmes but it’s only a week, they need a week’s rest, if they go away and do nothing, no problems, we have got a three-week build-up to the first game back. The schedule has been horrendous for us, it’s been a bit unfair playing Friday, Tuesday, Saturday, Tuesday – whatever days they are. It’s been really, really tough.
“There is nothing booked away yet, we certainly won’t be going abroad, we will be working hard back here in Birmingham, we might look to have a day or so away somewhere in England. We are trying to arrange a couple of games now.”
The hiatus will help Blues on a number of fronts, not least giving their injured players a chance to return, but it will also allow Eustace, who didn’t have a full pre-season following his late appointment, the opportunity to do some hands-on coaching.
“We have got a very small squad, we are missing Harlee Dean, big
Roberts, really influential players at the back,’’ said the head coach.
“It gives us time to get them fit, it gives us time to get the rest of the squad fit, time to rest Auston Trusty, who has come on the back of the MLS season and then played 21 games at a very tough level. Then hopefully we can come back stronger.
“The work will be about keeping the standards very high, all around the training ground, on the pitch. We know we have to be better with the ball so we are putting some work into that.
“But we are not getting carried away with things. We have to remember we were favourites for relegation at the start of the season. The most important thing is we keep doing the basics very, very well.”