Aberdeen should have been sunning themselves in Dubai before Covid waved those plans goodbye.
But Stephen Glass is praying that a good old-fashioned mini-pre season in the frozen north will have his Dons fit and firing when Rangers herald the end of the winter break by visiting Pittodrie next Tuesday night.
The Aberdeen boss had hoped to fit in a bounce game in the Middle East before having to scrap the trip and concerns over the virus have made a friendly in Scotland more than hassling than it’s worth.
Glass isn’t too concerned about that. He’s just hoping the December momentum, built on four wins in five games, can continue when the league leaders come to town.
And that the current rules restricting the crowd limit to only 500 will be at least partially lifted by January 18.
He said: “From everything I’m seeing, I’m more hopeful because it looks more positive at the moment.
“The fear of what’s out there seems to be dissipating slightly.
“The restrictions in England are different, so it might cause things to happen and fingers crossed that will be the case.
“We were on a good run before the break, winning four out of five in December.
“We were looking forward to hosting Dundee with a huge crowd then Rangers after Christmas.
“Both teams had been going well in December, but we got our heads around it pretty quickly.
“We wanted to keep our run going but we knew the break was coming up, so it wasn’t a big problem.
“It was good to go into the break on the back of a win (over Dundee), that was better than a defeat.
“We were supposed to be going to Dubai but we cancelled that in mid-December when things started heading this way.
“We probably won’t have any bounce games because of Covid concerns so we’ll have games between ourselves.
“What we’ll do is similar to the way we did pre-season last summer.”
Glass was under enormous pressure earlier in the season when his side went nine games without a win but they’ve recovered to climb into the top six and given their inconsistent form, the manager has no complaints about their current position - while looking to improve upon it after the break.
“We are probably where we deserve to be in the league at the moment because we have not won enough games and have shot ourselves in the foot too often,” he admitted.
“We have been pretty inconsistent, we have good and bad results, so I think we are where we should be.
“We are positioned to start challenging for the top end of the league, but also have to be cautious because if we don’t perform then we’ll be under threat from the teams below us.
“Performance-wise, I think we could be higher but it’s points on the board that matter so I have to say we are where we deserve to be.”
The Dons have brought back promising youngster Connor Barron from a loan spell at Kelty Hearts and have sent loanees Austin Samuel and Matty Longstaff back to Wolves and Newcastle respectively.
But they’ve kept Teddy Jenks on loan from Brighton – as well as signing rising American star Dante Polvara on Saturday – and Glass reckons every player on their books could have a part to play with Covid making team selection so unpredictable.
“The club is built on bringing young players through, giving them opportunities,” he said.
“Connor had a good loan spell with Kelty. Kevin Thomson was brilliant with him there.
“He was playing in a team winning games and doing well, so we thought he would come back and help us.
“It will help him being with us too. We are happy he’s back and we are looking for him to kick on now.
“At the minute, the plan is for Teddy to still be here. Austin and Matty will go back to their parent clubs. Both had a good time up here. Both had different situations and both would have liked more game time and they are both great types. We wish them both the best in their future careers.”
The release of Samuel and Longstaff could free up space for new arrivals but Glass admitted that will also depend on the club accepting offers for players like Calvin Ramsay and Ryan Hedges, both the subject of interest from England.
He is adamant, though, that nobody will be sold cheaply and believes that Scottish clubs are no longer prepared to flog their star players for buttons.
Glass said: “I know that over time clubs have underpaid for players up here.
“The Nathan Patterson (sold to Everton by Rangers for more than £10m) situation shows that is changing perhaps and young ones who have gone previously are now going for decent money.
“I think people know they need to pay the going rate.
“Clubs are strong up here – they are not just going to roll over.
“I think Scottish clubs know what they have with young Scottish talent.
“Some of the ones that have gone south from various clubs have shown their value as well which is important.”
