GRIMSBY Town's players put their feet up this week and Rob Scott believes it could pay dividends come the end of the season.
The squad returned to training on Thursday morning after a prolonged four-day break for most members of the playing staff.
Only internationals Aswad Thomas and Andi Thanoj saw competitive action during the break – given to the players ahead of a punishing schedule of games.
This afternoon's visit of AFC Telford marks the start of a busy run-in for Town as they look to continue their hunt for success on two fronts. And Scott believes it was crucial to give his players a break from the physical and mental rigours of that challenge.
He told the Telegraph: "It was the last chance that they were going to get a rest before what we hope will be the end of April.
"They will need that rest mentally as well as physically.
"I know people reading this will think 'oh they only go in and train,' but rest is sometimes as important as training hard.
"They've put in a lot of hard work to get us where we are today.
"This week was an opportunity for them to relax, spend some time with their families and switch off from football, ready for the game today.
"They came back after the break looking really sharp and bright.
"Hopefully, it will have paid dividends this afternoon, and will set them up well for a successful season."
After today's clash with the Bucks, the Mariners are faced with a schedule that will test the strength of their squad, with two games in a week being a regular occurrence.
But Scott feels the team is in 'good health' going into those fixtures, with striker Liam Hearn – still recovering from a ruptured Achilles – the only absentee through injury.
"There is a lot of planning with dealing with a schedule like we've got coming up.
"Myself and Paul (Hurst) put a lot of stock on preparing right – and that goes right down to resting and recovering as well as training hard.
"We're in good health going into this period of games – confidence is high home and away.
"We're doing okay and picking up points away from home and winning games."
On Hearn's injury comeback, he added: "Liam is still doing his own individual things that he needs to do. He hasn't trained with us again just yet.
"That was put back a week purely because of the time that we've given the other lads off.
"He was going to train this week but, because of the heaviness of the pitch, we discussed it and decided against it.
"We'll look at him resuming and integrating back into a small part of training next week and we're looking forward to having him back in the fold again.
"It's a mental thing for Liam now as much as anything.
"As we have done to this point, we'll just take it day-by-day and we won't put any time limits on it."
