Rest? Forget it, says Johnson

JABO Ibehre (above left) has been in and out of the Athletic side of late and requires a “bit of work” according to manager Lee Johnson.

LEE Johnson will get stuck into his players during an inadvertent mid-season break from today - after admitting his disappointment that last night’s game at Barnsley didn’t happen.

Every player — including those on loan deals which end this weekend — will be put through their paces to be ready for the Doncaster game on January 10.

Johnson hopes the postponement will end up working to his advantage in allowing captain Liam Kelly and stand-in skipper George Elokobi to get back to full speed.

“The loan players will certainly be staying until their deals are up,” said the manager. “Some need a bit of work. George Elokobi needs a little pre-season, Liam Kelly will hopefully be back soon, Jabo Ibehre has been in and out with suspension and the likes of Amari Morgan-Smith, James Dayton and Carl Winchester need a catch-up.

“We will use it as well as a time to do what we need to, tactically.

“The performances against Yeovil and MK Dons were really poor and we addressed that. Against Crewe we were very good apart from the finishing, and in the sort of minor defensive detail that takes one session at most to get right.

“Up front, it was just that finish or through ball that was absent. We have looked at the Crewe game again on DVD and with better final passes, we would have got in six definite shots on target.”