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Ross County vice-captain Fontaine not a fan of Premiership's winter break


By Andrew Henderson

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Liam Fontaine would rather not have had the winter break – and he believes a hectic run of games right afterwards will undo any benefit Ross County might get.

The Staggies are in the middle of a three-week gap in the fixture list, with their next game coming in the Scottish Cup against Ayr United one week from tomorrow.

County’s players had some time off after travelling to St Johnstone at the end of last month, but returned to training this week.

Ross County’s Liam Fontaine – pictured against Celtic earlier in the season – would have preferred to keep playing over the last two weekends. Picture: Ken Macpherson
Ross County’s Liam Fontaine – pictured against Celtic earlier in the season – would have preferred to keep playing over the last two weekends. Picture: Ken Macpherson

In theory, it means that players should be refreshed with any niggling injuries given time to heal.

But with midweek games in each of the first four weeks after returning to action, Fontaine would rather have been out on the pitch than sitting on the sidelines.

“The break is good for certain reasons, and bad for certain reasons,” the 34-year-old said.

“Certain players can get that rest and recover and be ready to go again come mid-January.

“I don’t like it personally. I dunno whether that’s because I played the majority of my career in England.

“You don’t get the break there because there are so many games to get in around this time of year. The Christmas period is always mega busy.

“I’d rather just keep playing week in and week out.”

The first league match back after the break will see the Staggies host a struggling Hearts side on Wednesday, January 22.

County will fancy their chances of getting a result, and though he is not a fan of the break the club’s vice-captain says they have to do what they can to make the most of it.

“We know the level of performance we need to get to to get results,” he insisted.

“It’s a case of us using the break to our advantage, using it to get everyone back fully fit and sharper.

“Obviously we’ve got the cup game first, but we need to put ourselves in a position so that when we do come back in the league we can start on a high again and put some points on the board.”


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