10:18am Saturday 10th May 2008
By Andrew Greaves
Preston North End boss Alan Irvine has sent his players away for a well deserved summer break - but with a friendly warning ringing in their ears.
Irvine will next see his squad when they report back to Springfields on July but he says that he hopes the players will make efforts to stay in shape - or risk an uncomfortable pre-season.
He told the club's website: "We had them in on Tuesday,and we gave them a written programme and a DVD "It's up to them whether or not they adhere to it, but I'd certainly recommend that they adhere to it because if they don't they will find pre-season extremely uncomfortable. I had a chat with them, just to run over a couple of things that I feel are important between now and the 1st July and they will get a break.
"There are many ways of trying to do it. You can bring them in for an extra week at the end which will serve no purpose whatsoever, or you can bring them in a couple of weeks early, but psychologically the players coming back in June don't think they have had a break. There's also the option of bringing them in during the break, but when do you do that when everybody has their own holidays organised?
"For me it's best to simply send them away, put the responsibility on their shoulders, and tell them to look after themselves properly during the summer.
"They need a rest - mentally and physically - and if they can have that rest and look after themselves at the same time then that is perfect."
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