IT'S THE time of year most people look forward to, but for professional footballers the Christmas and New Year holiday usually means work as usual.
I have been in the game for so long that playing and training when most people are eating, drinking and relaxing has become a way of life, but I suppose it must be a bit of a culture a shock for youngsters trying to make their way in the game.
At Chester City we will be training on Christmas Eve and on Christmas Day as we prepare for Boxing Day's big game against the League Two leaders Scunthorpe United.
It is a massive game for us and we need to give ourselves every chance of winning it.
We have decided to get the players in for training at 6pm on Christmas Day, simply because we will know by then who has been following the rules and who hasn't. We will soon tell who has been over-eating or having a drink too many. It is vital to conduct ourselves in a professional manner.
The lads have had their Christmas party and enjoyed it, but now it is back to business.
Players have to remember that supporters usually turn out in bigger numbers than usual on Boxing Day and New Year's Day, so we must be in a position to give them value for money.
I know it can be hard for players with young families, but that's the way it has to be. When I was at Liverpool whether we were playing at home or away on Boxing Day, we always spent Christmas night in a hotel.
We managed to spend some of the day with our families, so it wasn't all work and no play.
Personally, I never found the sacrifice particularly hard to make because I couldn't wait to play. When you are a professional footballer you have to accept these things without question.
Hopefully, we can make our preparations pay off on Sunday and I am optimistic that the two players we have on loan from Luton Town, David Bayliss and Ian Hillier, will make all the difference.
I have been very impressed with them, on their debuts at Southend and in training.
Taking players on loan can be a gamble. You don't know if their hearts are going to be in it, but these two are desperate to play first team football and I know they will give it their best shot with us.
The Luton manager Mike Newell is a friend of mine and he has been very supportive allowing the two players to join us.
And I can't speak too highly of the Birmingham boss Steve Bruce who was also keen to help by letting us have goalkeeper Colin Doyle recently.
There are times when you need the contacts you have made in the game and I am very grateful to Mike and Steve for helping us out.
