Winter break leaves Wright cold

St Johnstone manager Tommy Wright believes the winter break is a good idea – but does not go far enough.

Wright’s squad have generally had little chance to rest in recent years, with four European adventures followed by the early Betfred Cup start this year.

And he feels players need a greater break than the one offered by the January shutdown, when Ladbrokes Premiership teams get two free weekends before the William Hill Scottish Cup starts.

Wright, who is giving his players one week off before preparing for a fourth-round tie with Stenhousemuir, said: “Having a winter break is a good thing. Is three weeks long enough? The answer is probably no.

“At the end of this season, if you are in the Scottish Cup final, it’s the last Saturday in May and the first game in Europe is the last week in June.

“If possible most managers would have just played on and tried to finish the season earlier. We could come back and get the worst six weeks of weather over the winter as well.

“But I am not going to be over-critical of people who want to try things. We are all for trying it and giving it a go.

“But I think most managers and players would prefer a longer break if possible somewhere and I know that sometimes it isn’t possible because of the fixture list and this is the best we can do.”

Wright is looking to go into the break on a high by extending their unbeaten run to six when they take on Dundee at Dens Park tomorrow.

Wright said: “We are only three points behind Hearts and we have an opportunity to draw level if they were to lose. We know the importance of the game, the fact that it’s a derby and that we can gain on Aberdeen or Hearts whatever way their result goes. We need to make sure we finish off 2016 on a high.”