Manager Alan Irvine has sent his players away to enjoy themselves after a long hard season - but not for too long.

Though the gaffer believes his players fully deserve a few weeks away to rest and recuperate, he sent the lads away from the Springfields training ground earlier this week with the clear message that he wants them to work hard and stick to a rigid fitness plan during the break so they can come back and hit the ground running - literally - when pre-season training commences on July 1st.

"We had them in on Tuesday, and we gave them a written programme and a DVD," explained Irvine. 

"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."

Need a holiday yourself? Check out our Holiday Club offers now...