Malky Mackay insists Ross County’s balance between fitness and rest is more important than ever this season.
The Staggies are back in the thick of pre-season action, having defeated Nairn County 3-1 in their first friendly on Tuesday.
County are in action again on Saturday when they host Championship side Queen’s Park.
The midweek trip to Station Park came exactly a month after County secured top-flight survival with a dramatic play-off victory over Partick Thistle.
Given the unusually late end to last season due to the World Cup, Mackay says he will maximise rest periods at regular stages throughout the campaign.
Mackay said: “It’s three weeks, and we’ve got to be careful. In three weeks off, you’re not going to lose much fitness – but you have to make sure the rest is applied properly.
“I spoke to Callum Beattie at the league on a number of matters and it’s obviously something they’re keen to avoid.
“It was a one-off because of the World Cup – that’s what he said, and it’s just the way it had to go.
“We gave ourselves an extra week by being in the play-off, and if Inverness had got to the final it could have been even later.
“In September, October and November, we will have international breaks, and they will be key in terms of giving players rest and time off.
“I’m very conscious that rest is so important at our level, with the intensity we want to play with and the intensity of our league, because during the rest of the time it’s hell for leather.”
Andrews a key part of Staggies’ backroom team
Mackay insists he is being led by sports scientist Alun Andrews on the best way to condition the players.
The Welshman joined County in 2022, having previously worked with the Staggies boss at Cardiff City.
Mackay says Andrews has a strong handle on what is required in the players’ schedules.
He added: “It’s what Alun Andrews, our sports scientist, is on top of.
“I have great faith in him, I worked with him at Cardiff.
“He has grown and grown, he’s a terrific and humble young man who has come in and quietly gone about his business.
“He prides himself on the fitness of the players, and it’s about getting that balance right.
“We have to get them fit again while being careful, so that we have a functioning squad that can see us through until the January break.”
Mackay will rotate squad again for Spiders’ visit
The visit of the Spiders will be County’s final friendly before they play their first Viaplay Cup group match at Stranraer next Saturday.
County remain without long-term absentees Ross Callachan and Ben Paton, with Mackay hoping to have Eamonn Brophy, Ross Laidlaw and Jordan Tillson back in contention during the League Cup group campaign.
Mackay will once again take the chance to rotate his squad against Queen’s Park – the club with which he began his senior playing career.
He added: “They’ve only been off for three weeks before getting right back into it again, so there wasn’t really time for us to go away anywhere in pre-season.
“I looked at how quickly these games were going to come, and I thought we should do two this week before we’re into the League Cup.
“We didn’t have time to go away, so we’ll leave that until the winter break when we’ll have the whole group and we’ll really see the benefit of that.
“We’ve just got hard into it in Dingwall for the first week, and that’s why I thought we should just get 45 minutes into them at Nairn. We will do the same again on Saturday before the game down at Stranraer the week after.”
