BOSS Nathan Jones described as “invaluable” the opportunity to work with his squad as Saints step up their training in Spain this week.

The St Mary’s side returned to duty with manager Jones at Staplewood last week, before the club announced they would be heading off to the southern coast of Andalucía amid the World Cup break.

Jones has been at the helm following the sacking of Ralph Hasenhuttl last month. He took charge of his first game just days after arriving – culminating in a 3-1 defeat at Liverpool.

But with his squad set to jet off to Spain today, Jones is eager to build more trust alongside bonding with his charges.

Asked about the week ahead across the continent, the former Luton boss said: "It's invaluable really.

“Obviously, the week we've had now has been a really good, positive week, but then to take them away has multiple positives.


“One, you'll still be able to do the level of work within an enclosed environment, you get a change of scenery which is always nice and freshens the mind up, and then we'll really be able to do some bonding, have some good meetings, positive goal-setting meetings and certain things, which are really vital to the environment.

“Plus it gives us a real opportunity to get to know the players over a greater period of time and be around them 24-7 and that's important for us as well, because we can build real relationships.

“For us to demand from them, they have to see our work is good and that they can trust us and that we care about them.

“This week away gives us a real opportunity, in a different environment and a different setting, because we do demand from them, we do ask them to work hard, we do ask them for different things than maybe they've done before.

“To be able to do that in a real good setting, they get to see us and get to know us, and us to get to know them, plus we get to see real progress in terms of things we want to do.

“We'll do similar things to what we did this week and we'll back-up that work with even more extensive work, and then the week after that will be an extension again.

“But to be able to do it in a beautiful setting like we're going to is good for the mind, it gives that bonding but also the most important thing is we get the work done, and we get the work done to a really high standard.”

Saints are set to return from their training camp on Sunday, December 11.

Their next competitive game comes in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup, when they take on Lincoln on Wednesday, December 21.

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