Will Ferry is using Dundee United's training camp in Portugal to get firing and into top gear for the Premiership restart. The Republic of Ireland international has had a disjointed pre-season because of ongoing summer bids for his services.
Manager Jim Goodwin has taken his squad away for a training camp, which will see them face Dutch side PEC Zwolle in a friendly at the end of the week. United will then return from Portugal and play at least one closed-door game in Scotland before resuming their Premiership campaign at home to Hibs on October 10th.
Ferry's disrupted pre-season
Ferry admitted he has been using the break to get fully fit after his own pre-season preparations were derailed by a transfer bid from Sigma Olomouc and ongoing speculation. This caused him to miss several games with minor niggles because transfer window disruptions prevented him from getting his base match fitness and sharpness.
It was a long transfer period with interest from Blackburn Rovers and Celtic. Ferry, who is in the final year of his contract and has been offered a new deal by United, isn't making a decision on his future in the short-term.
The Irishman said: "The break is big for me, I've been looking forward to these three weeks. I've never had an opportunity during a season like this before, just to fully focus on getting fit. I know it will be annoying for some people, three weeks without a game, but for me it's a great thing.
"I didn't play before because we didn't want to set me back, it's been a case of managing it until we got to this break. Going to Portugal will be a like a mini pre-season and I need that. Hopefully I can get fit for coming back into it for the Hibs game and be very available."
Manager's return and style of play
The first part of the Premiership campaign has also been a bit disjointed in terms of results, although they signed off with a convincing win at St Mirren. They weren't helped by Goodwin's health issues but now their manager is fully fit and leading the team again.
It also comes at a time when Goodwin is trying to get his team to play more expansive and attacking football. It is something the players have welcomed and believe will benefit the club going forward.
Ferry admitted: "My first season here we were not nice to watch at all - and I love that (when they finished fourth and qualified for Europe). It's about finding a mix.
"This is a new group of boys and in football everything gets taken literally, playing nice football is what everyone wants to see. But there's a lot more to it than that. The teams in the past, Motherwell and Celtic spring to mind, they've had that nasty side to them as well.
"You need both elements for it to work. Against Falkirk we didn't have the aggression we needed so that's why we started on the back foot. That always has to be there, you can't just play nice football. You need to earn the right to play. If you're being run over it doesn't work, so it's about finding that good mix. You can't have a bad half hour then start to turn it on. It's too competitive at this level."
Ferry's focus on results
Ferry knows how relentless Scottish football can be and accepted there also needs to be balance. He doesn't care about the style of the team, the most important thing is that United walk off with the points.
Ferry added: "For me, I'm all about being horrible to play against. There's nothing worse than coming off saying 'how did we lose to them, they're rubbish?'
"But you just know they're a team who are together, the fight for each other, they run, tackle and do everything well. That's what we're working towards and hopefully we can show that."
