It might be called a mid-season break.
But this will be no mid-season holiday for struggling St Johnstone.
The bottom of the table Perth side are hoping to move their way up the Premiership as soon as possible when the Premiership resumes.
And that will mean putting in some hard work while the league is on hold, according to striker Chris Kane.
“It is not going to be a holiday for us anyway,” said Kane, who scored for Saints against Celtic on Boxing Day.
“We’ll need to keep the legs ticking over and keep ourselves fit.
“We’ll have things to do over the break to keep us fresh and ready for when we come back.
“We want to win as many games as we can to try and push up that table. Already we know that the first game back is going to be massive.
“There is a mix between younger players and experience. There is enough in the dressing room to pull us through this.
“It was never going to be easy losing two of your best players but we are still a good team and have quality.”
Callum Davidson is set to be a busy man in the January transfer market and Kane believes recent recruit Jacob Butterfield has set a good example of the difference a new signing can make.
Freshen up the place
“It always helps bringing in new boys,” he said. “It makes you want to keep your place in the team.
“Jacob Butterfield has come in and has started playing so that will give the other midfielders a push.
“It will be good to get some boys in to freshen up the place.
“Confidence is right down at the moment so that is not helping.
“We’re not scoring many and that is maybe putting more pressure on the defence.
“Obviously I want to score more goals and I’m sure the other strikers do too.
“There are silly mistakes all over the park. It’s just not going for us right now.
“We’re going to have to regroup and then push because it’s going to be a massive second half of the season.”
🗣 "A proper No 9's header!"
A lovely ball into the box from Viv Solomon-Otabor and Chris Kane is there to head past #CelticFC goalkeeper Vasilis Barkas.
📺 Watch live on Sky Sports Football
📲 Live blog 👉 https://t.co/sf1HH1lIHd pic.twitter.com/D5P08bl4pM— Sky Sports Scotland (@ScotlandSky) December 26, 2021
“Defending properly” will be a key building block for Saints on their return.
“In the first 10 minutes of the game we need to be hard to beat and play in their half,” said Kane. “Against Celtic we didn’t do that.
“They scored the first and that got their heads up. Our heads go down.
“The second was another poor goal from our point of view. After that, it’s a mountain to climb, especially against a team like Celtic.
Chance wasted
“We got that goal back and it gave us a boost. I felt there was a chance to go and get more.
“But another poor decision at the back loses us a third – and that kills it.
“The gaffer has been saying for a while now that it’s not like us.
“We need to get back to defending properly and making teams come here to work for their goals.
“We’re giving them away too easily. We’ll need to focus on that after the break, as well as scoring more goals ourselves.”
