Paul Hartley is planning to keep his players busy with games to help sustain Dundee’s pre-break momentum.
The Dark Blues finished 2016 in fine style with a 3-0 Tayside derby win against St Johnstone that lifted them six points clear of bottom spot in the Premiership and five points above the play-off place.
The Dens Park players will now have a short time away from football but when they return, Hartley believes playing matches will be important to ensure they hit the ground running against St Mirren in the Scottish Cup.
A friendly at Arbroath next Tuesday night, kick-off 7.45pm, has already been fixed up.
“The plan is to give them a few days off,” Hartley said.
“The break is a good idea.
“Players will get the chance to spend time with their families and do things they wouldn’t usually be able to at this time of the year.
“Some might go on holiday.
“Then when they come back we’ll hopefully have a couple of games in the first week.
“I want two or three matches before the season starts again in the Scottish Cup.
“We’ve already spoken to a couple of clubs about getting matches sorted. It might be games at night against part-time clubs.
“We’ll be staying here because of finances.
“But would it benefit us to go away anyway? I’m not sure. Sometimes it’s better just to stay here.
“They’ll get their time off, which they need. Mentally, it will be good for them to be away from the ground for a few days and switch off. The same is true physically.”
He added: “Playing matches is going to be important.
“We want to keep ticking over because we’re going straight into a very important cup game against St Mirren.”
