Simon Grayson: Fleetwood Town's break was a timely one

Saturday’s game against Morecambe is the first of seven in three weeks for a Town camp, whose small squad has been affected by injuries.

Grayson told The Gazette: “We’ve had some good days’ training; Thursday, Friday and then a double session on Monday as well.

“It’s never easy because we have a lot of the younger players on international duty and a few knocks that have not been able to train since the last game.

“There has been a balance of being able to get some good work into the players and also being able to recharge the batteries ahead of a busy period.

“We’ve not got the biggest of squads anyway so, physically and mentally, for the lads that have played a lot of games, they probably needed that break.

“That is knowing we’re going into this period where we have a lot of Saturday-Tuesday games.

“Sometimes international breaks can be a hindrance, sometimes they can be a help.

“This one was a help because we could get some work into the players and recharge the batteries of some others.

“Christmas time, there are a lot of games. People don’t always take into consideration the travelling that we do.

“We go to Oxford on Tuesday and Wimbledon on Saturday, and that can take a lot out of players when it’s the third game in a week.

“We have Morecambe at the weekend but we have to be conscious of the small squad and the availability of the players.”

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