Hearts manager Steven Naismith believes it is more beneficial to give players enough time to recover mentally and physically before playing out the rest of the season, despite the fact that some teams will restrict their players’ winter break time and instead choose to get them together to work on tactics, fitness, and squad cohesion.
Teams in a crowded league have had little break from the demands of delivering results every week. Hearts, who are now ranked third in the Premiership standings, have outperformed other teams in terms of consistency, but Naismith is aware that there is still more work to be done in order to cross the finish line.
The Scottish Cup match between the Tynecastle club and League Two Spartans on January 20 will mark the start of competitive play again, and Naismith anticipates his players to be well-rested and prepared by then. He will collaborate with the board to bring in more players, with the right-back position being their top priority—especially with Australia’s Nathaniel Atkinson, the team’s first choice, now serving in the Asian Cup. However, Naismith also desires to get the most out of the men that are already available to him.
After his side secured their fourth straight victory to close out the holiday season undefeated and create a larger margin over teams beneath them in the standings, he declared, “The players will get some time off and I think they need it.” Rather of having them return for a camp, we will grant them a prolonged period of leave. That wouldn’t, in my opinion, be worth the money or advantageous to the athletes.
“We have a really challenging four days planned with a game that will bring everyone up to speed when we return. In our first week back, we have three games in a week, which will help us get back into the swing of things.
“We need to enhance the right-back position, as I have stated often. We should try to get someone in as quickly as possible. We should have additional details regarding the precise target or targets that we are searching for in roughly a week. It’s rarely that simple in football, but we’ll take it from there.
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