St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson believes Scottish football has lost a selling point after the removal of its winter break.
The two-week hiatus in action for Scottish Premiership clubs is no more after the expansion of European competition removed several opportunities to play midweek fixtures.
The mid-season interval previously came immediately after the New Year fixtures but this season the hectic festive schedule has extended with St Mirren’s visitors on Saturday, Dundee United, set for a third game inside a week.
Robinson said: “You try and shuffle it a little bit, but keeping everybody fit and sharp, because there’s nowhere to train at times, you’re working in the gym a lot, it’s difficult.
“I wish the winter break was still here. It would be great. We’d all be in Tenerife now or something. But it’s not because of the Champions League. It’s the same for every side.
Read more:
- Rangers supporter group call for decisive action, want Clement sacked
- Every word of Kris Boyd’s latest extraordinary Rangers rant
“The smaller clubs obviously, like ourselves, struggle a little bit more in terms of bodies. But we’ve done OK out of it in terms of injuries. We’ve got a full squad outwith Conor McMenamin.
“You’re just churning games out again. It’s horrible for fans as well over Christmas. You’re constantly paying money to go and watch games.
“Some of them have been of lesser quality because you’re asking boys to go again in surfaces like at Killie when it was freezing cold as well, and at other venues as well. So I think as a spectacle, it hasn’t been as good as it could be.
“I loved the winter break, especially as a smaller club. It does allow you to reset, to take your time over transfers. You’re not playing games, you’re maybe having a week off and then a week away somewhere to prepare.
“It was a big attraction with Scottish football as well for getting players up.”
The difficulties of the schedule have been exacerbated by below-freezing temperatures.
“It’s been a struggle, obviously, training this week with the weather,” the former Motherwell boss said. “I’m sure it’s the same for everybody, but we’ve managed to get some sessions in, and everyone’s come through them well.
“Some people don’t train on the astro pitches, but we’re all ready to go.
“Our astro here is not fantastic. It’s not meant to freeze, but it seems to freeze. Unfortunately, at about five degrees it freezes.
“You have to be quite gentle with what you do in terms of twisting and turning in case you get more injuries, people slipping on it. Some other clubs have got indoor arenas and places they can train indoor. We don’t have the privilege of that, unfortunately.
“But we’ve got a good group of boys that don’t find excuses, they just get on with it. We try and put as much tactical information in as we possibly can and work on the things that we’re able to work on.
Read more:
- Atlanta United's 'big focus' revealed amid Kyogo to MLS speculation
- Dundee 'could've nicked' win vs Rangers as major VAR decision debated
“In this country, we don’t have a lot of options in terms of full-size covered astro pitches. Ravenscraig is always fully booked. Motherwell dominate that, unfortunately – I think I set that up, we put a retainer there. Toryglen is constantly busy and that’s really the only two full-size areas in the region that’s within travelling distance for us.
“So that’s a goal for the football club to have a full-size covered dome and make millions out of it and allow us somewhere to train as well. But obviously, that’s a few years away.”
Meanwhile, Robinson expects some further transfer activity after signing striker Owen Oseni and replacing the recalled Ellery Balcombe with returning loan goalkeeper Zach Hemming.
He said: “We’d like to add two more to it. One we’re very close to completing in the forward areas, a wide player, and hopefully get one more in as well. And then I’ll balance that out with boys going out.”
