Winter breaks will pay biggest dividends the following summer | Liam Rosenior


I’ve heard former pros say they ‘played 60 games a season’ and never complained but the game has moved on and demands on players are increasing every year

It was a bittersweet Christmas for me. Having not been selected in the squad for Brighton’s game at Chelsea, I was afforded, for the first time in 16 years, the benefit of a Christmas Day off to spend with my wife and children at home without the worry of preparing for a game the next day or being away in a hotel in the evening stuck to my phone with them on FaceTime.

While it was amazing to be the recipient of a privilege that not only footballers but also nurses, paramedics, police officers and people with far more important jobs than me yearn for at this time, I couldn’t help but miss the adrenaline high I’ve been conditioned to getting from the age of 16 in the build-up to a big Boxing Day match.

Related: Mixing with lower divisions is football’s school of hard knocks | Liam Rosenior

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