Mark O’Hara might have enjoyed strolling down the Champs-Élysées in Paris during his two-week World Cup break.
But the St Mirren captain couldn’t stop his mind wandering back to Paisley as the club prepare to pick up where they left off in the Premiership.
O’Hara and his Saints teammates jetted off all over the place as the Qatar tournament delivered Scottish top-flight players an early getaway in mid-November.
And while 26-year-old O’Hara enjoyed the sights of the French capital, the determined midfielder hopes the time off has helped his side recharge ahead of a crucial run of festive fixtures.
Having returned to training this week, O’Hara told Renfrewshire Live Sport: “I managed to have a city break in Paris which was good.
“It was difficult to switch off, though. We were in the middle of a good run of games and you want that to continue.
“We have had the January break in the past, but this seemed to come around so quickly. It is unusual to stop so early, but at least we have had the World Cup to watch.
“At least that was something to look forward to every day.
“This week has been like a mini pre-season and there has mostly been a bit of running.
“Hopefully we will benefit from a recharge and we will come back fresher. It is an important patch coming up and a busy patch as well.
“We had a meeting on Monday and we talked about how, while we have done well so far, it has not been great. Looking back, there have been a few regrets in some of the games. I think we could have picked up more points than we did.
“Our home form has been very good, the only one we’ve lost was the first game of the season. That’s the biggest positive so far.”
One aspect of football O’Hara admits he hasn’t been missing is VAR interruptions.
The Buddies have been on the end of a couple of contentious calls already since the new system was introduced in October.
O’Hara hopes Saints’ relationship with VAR improves when they return to action, starting with their trip to Fir Park to take on his former club Motherwell on Saturday, December 17.
Asked about VAR’s introduction, O’Hara said: “It’s been interesting. For us, more has gone against us than for us, which has been disappointing.
“But it should even itself out over the course of the season. It’s definitely taken a bit of getting used to.
“It can be frustrating on the pitch at times, but it’s just something we will have to get used to. If the right decision is being made then you can’t question it.
“Going forward, I think there should be more communication. When there’s a stop and the referee goes over to the monitor, you don’t know what he is looking for and everyone has to stay away.
“I think that’s eight penalties we have conceded all season. It’s not been going for us.
“Consciously I think we have to do that [put hands behind back when defending]. We’ve probably not been doing enough of that.
“I’m not sure exactly how many penalties we have conceded have been handballs but it’s definitely been four or five.
“I think we need to get better at defending like that with the way the rule is, or if the rule gets changed which may happen.
“We’ve only had one penalty all season, which is surprising given the number of games and the number of penalties.
“We are just not getting the rub of the green right now with penalties not going for us and going against us. But hopefully that will average out over the course of the season and we will get more luck in the opposite box.”
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