Malky Mackay believes the change of scene will benefit Ross County’s players during this week’s training camp in Spain.
The Staggies travelled to their training base in Pinatar, near Alicante, on Sunday, where they will be based for the rest of this week.
It is a facility which Mackay regularly used with national youth teams when he was performance director at the Scottish FA.
The training camp comes in the midst of the Scottish Premiership winter break during the World Cup.
County will play St Mirren in a bounce game following their return, before they commence their Premiership campaign at home to St Johnstone on December 17.
Mackay says the opportunity of warm weather training is one he is determined to make the most of.
Having had his squad back training in Dingwall for a few days before heading out to Spain, he said: “Last Tuesday was just a break-in day, being careful with everybody because they have been off.
“On Wednesday, we upped the ante, and the rest of the week was quite heavy.
“They are all really looking forward to something different, and a little bit of sun on their backs.
“It’s a place I know well – I took the Scottish FA teams there for the last four years.
“The training facilities and pitches are immaculate. It’s a little place in the middle of nowhere, out the road, and it’s easy to get to once we fly to Alicante.
“It will be great for a week of real good hard training, twice a day. We will make sure they are ready for the next two weeks.”
Staggies’ players refocused ahead of training camp
County’s players were given an initial week-long leave period following their last match, against Celtic on November 12, before reporting back to Victoria Park last Tuesday.
Mackay feels the downtime will have a refreshing effect on his players, who are 16 games into their league campaign.
He added: “We drew this up in July when the dates came out, so we knew exactly when everybody was off. It allowed families to plan for things, and for everyone to go and do what they had to do.
“Some had a couple of days in city breaks, some were a week in the sun, while some were staying at home and painting the back bedroom.
“It’s longer than we had in the summer!
“Having spoken to most of the Premiership managers about what they were going to do, everyone seemed to be giving their players the first week off. After that, there were still four weeks.
“We were coming off the back of a couple of intense weeks, and the travelling from that was quite heavy.
“It allowed everybody the chance to get a bit of downtime, but to come back ready and refocused.”
Mackay says he and his backroom staff have also taken the chance to refresh, in a way which is not made possible during the normal January winter break.
He added: “It allowed me to give staff time off, and really close the game down.
“I did not answer the phone for a few days.
“January is certainly not a break for the managers, because it’s so fervent with the amount of ins and outs. It allowed us all to have a break.”
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