INTERNATIONAL breaks for us at West Ham and clubs across the land is international ‘keep-your-fingers-crossed’ time.
Four times this season managers and coaches will all be sitting by the phone, desperate for players to return to their clubs in one piece.
International breaks are a tense time at the London StadiumCredit: Getty
West Ham boss Nuno Espirito Santo needs his players to return in one pieceCredit: Getty
We’ve already had two breaks with another following this weekend’s games, plus a fourth in March.
International break always sounds harmless enough. A couple of weeks off from the while players jet away to represent their countries.
But for clubs, it’s anything but relaxing. Just as teams start to build rhythm, momentum and confidence, everything stops. Suddenly half your squad are scattered across the world.
For managers, it must be a nightmare. You send off players in peak condition and just hope for the best that they return the same way.
If I was a manager I’d search for four-leafed clovers, buy a rabbit’s foot and stick a horseshoe in my handbag.
Sometimes players are fine, but sometimes they come back tired, injured and full of jet lag.
And this season, things are even more complicated.
is just around the corner, and that’s going to hit some Premier League clubs hard.
It’s a tournament full of pride, passion and quality. But it also means several sides will be without key players for weeks right in the middle of the season.
These aren’t fringe players either as they’re some of the best in the league. Take those names out of your starting 11 and it changes everything — not just your tactics, but your momentum and your form.
Managers will plan for it, of course. But the truth is, there’s only so much you can do when your best players are thousands of miles away.
You can’t — and shouldn’t — stand in the way of that because representing your country is the highest honour in football.
But there’s no denying it adds another layer of challenge for sides who are already juggling European competitions, domestic cups and relentless fixture lists.
Romero was caught up in international break drama last seasonCredit: Getty
It’s also a huge logistical effort and some clubs will use private jets to get players home quicker.
It made headlines last season when ’ complained that his club hadn’t laid on a private jet for him to return from an match.
Now, I’m not about to critique another club’s choices but I will say that private jets aren’t the luxury people imagine.
I know because we have booked plenty of them in the past to speed up recovery time and preparation because the more quickly you can get a player home, the quicker they can recover.
Even an extra day of rest can make a difference when you’ve got another big game just around the corner.
So, while supporters might enjoy a breather, for everyone inside Premier League clubs it’s anything but quiet.
We’re all counting down the days until the players are safely back, ready to pull on the shirt again — because that’s when the REAL season starts up once more.
It shouldn’t be forgotten that fans make amazing sacrifices every week, none more so than those of Truro City, who made a 914-mile round trip to Gateshead last month.
But even that pales compared to the longest trip ever by a football team, FC Trelissac against Magenta Noumea in the French Cup in 2014.
One is in south-west France, the other in the south-west Pacific Ocean!
The round trip for Trelissac’s players was over 21,000 miles.
And I bet they didn’t do it by private jet!
