Robbie Neilson has opened up on his plans for Hearts over the international break.
The Jambos had been on a tough run of six defeats in seven matches before a stunning week that produced a Europa Conference League victory on the road over group fourth seeds RFS in Riga followed up by a Premiership win over Motherwell at Fir Park just three days later.
The Tynecastle boss admits the break may well have arrived at the wrong time for his side but says his players need the rest. Those not away with their respective countries will get a couple of days off before taking on some conditional work and then they will get the weekend to rest up again before the hard work returns. Hearts have a busy period up until the World Cup finals starting with Rangers in Gorgie on October 1 in front of the Sky Sports cameras. In total they face 12 games in that short period with big European matches also to be played with trips to Istanbul and Florence included.
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This two week break will come as huge boost to the capital club, albeit just as they picked up some momentum. Speaking to Edinburgh Evening News, Neilson said: “Sometimes when you’re on a winning run it is good to keep it going, but I think the players need it
“They need a wee bit of time to settle down and then we’ll go again.
“The plans are for the boys to get a couple of days off. We’ll do a block of conditioning work to keep them ticking over. They’ll get the weekend off before coming back and getting back at it. Once it starts again, we’ll have 12 games in seven weeks.”
He continued: “We always reflect back on things, but the big build up for us now is going to be the Rangers game at home, which is going to be massive at the start of October. After that it is game, game, game, so it is about trying to keep the players as game-ready as possible.
“I couldn’t ask any more from the club. They’ve been outstanding in supporting us. The performance department, the football department – they’ve given us everything that we need and that we’ve asked for to try and help us get results like in Riga and against Motherwell.
“It’s a case of continuing that and trying to keep winning.”
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