David Moyes would rather Everton kept playing after extending their unbeaten run to seven matches.
Saturday’s 1-0 win over Ipswich Town was Everton’s final game before a three-week break, with 11 members of Moyes’ first-team squad now away on international duty.
Moyes on Everton’s three-week break
The other 11 players will remain at Finch Farm, although they’ll be given more time off than usual while Everton are without a game.
Speaking to the Liverpool Echo, Moyes said he’d rather have carried on. “I’d be surprised if it was a benefit from where we are, I think we’d rather the league continue. We do have international breaks, but this is the longest one I can remember. Certainly, it’s the first time we’ve ever gone for three weeks during the season. I think we’ll all have to get on with it. We’ve got no choice.”
The 11 Everton players on international duty will continue playing and training with their countries. Those who haven’t been called up will have a different schedule.
“We moan quite a lot around Christmas time because we play too much football,” Moyes said. “So, now we have an opportunity to give the players more rest time. Certainly not international players. If you’re an international player, then you’ve got to deal with it all. But the other players who are not in that situation might have a bigger opportunity to get more downtime and train differently at different times.”
Moyes expects clubs to arrange in-house games during the break, which would give those staying at Finch Farm some match practice.
The three weeks without a competitive game also give Christian Norgaard and Merlin Rohl more time to work on their respective returns from injury. Moyes has plenty to work with after an unbeaten start, and there have already been signs of Everton adding something different in possession.
He’d still rather be preparing for a game this weekend.
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