No break for the Eagles during international break (From This Is Local London)

Dougie: "Football is not a nine to five job"

5:39pm Tuesday 9th October 2012 in Crystal Palace FC By Tim Ashton

Even though the international break means a weekend without a ball being kicked in the Championship, Crystal Palace boss Dougie Freedman says there will be plenty going on at the training ground.

For while a handful of Eagles will be joining their fellow compatriots in readiness for international games, most will be staying in south-east London.

The Scot said: "We provide a service of coaching, not just football coaching but lifestyle as well, we always need to be around the training ground because, although four or five players maybe away on the internationals, there’s another 30 still around.

"Those players need us to be here, to keep providing them with the right environment to train.

"The domestic football world doesn't stop because of the internationals, there’s a reserve game against Millwall to prepare for, for a start." 

He added: "We can't suddenly cut players free for a week - not that they would do anything unwise, but they need to fit and ready to go when the season resumes."

On his own role, Freedman said: "If you want time off, you get a nine-to-five job so you know when you clock out but that is not how I run my life.

"You get a few afternoons off, maybe take the wife out for lunch, but as far as spending a week in the sun, I’ve not achieved enough to start thinking like that."