Graeme Jones says Christmas is a pivotal period but that he won’t be looking beyond the clash with his former club Swansea today.
The Championship clash at Kenilworth is the first of five games in a festive fortnight, followed by a Boxing Day game at home to Fulham, two away days at Bristol City and Millwall, finishing up with an FA Cup third round tie at Premier League Bournemouth.
Jones said: “I want to be optimistic about the Christmas period. We look after ourselves and we’re good professionals, so it’s a real opportunity to pick up points quickly.
“None of them are going to be easy. You’ve seen the league and (today) is the last game to assess every single opponent. I know we’ve played some home and away but you know what style of play is coming after (the) game.
“The Christmas period is always a pivotal period anyway, but you know me, I’m thinking about Swansea, not Fulham. We’ll move on to that after.”
Jones has had a week to prepare his men after three games in the previous seven days, with the last two ending in defeats at Stoke and Preston.
“It’s hard to work in between games. It’s about recovery,” the manager said, adding: “You’re using video footage and analysis so last Friday morning we were able to have a session that helped us towards being competitive at Preston and this week we’ve managed to have three working days so I’m really pleased with it.
“It was a really competitive session this morning (Friday). We looked like we had energy, so I feel like we’ve ticked a lot of boxes this week but, ultimately, it needs to be proof in the pudding. I’m looking forward tomorrow to see that.”
