Hearts finalise their winter break plans

Edinburgh club make a decison on how to spend the three-week hiatus in January

Hearts have decided against a winter training camp abroad this season and plan to remain at Riccarton throughout the January break. Tynecastle officials looked into options for a foreign trip but head coach Steven Naismith does not see a suitable location.

He is keen to ensure facilities and surroundings are perfect for the squad, and for this year that means staying in Edinburgh. Hearts intend to improve some areas of their training base over the coming weeks and Naismith is content to remain at home.

He and his players face a demanding period of nine games in just over five weeks between now and the winter stoppage. They finish away at Livingston on Tuesday, 2 January, and don't play again until Scottish Cup fourth-round weekend on 20 January.

"We decided not to go away," Naismith confirmed to the Edinburgh News. "In terms of what is available, what we can do, where we can go, the risk and reward isn't for us. A winter camp or a hot-weather camp can be massively important but they need to be right. When you start compromising on things, the risks outweigh the positives of it.

"We are hoping to develop some things around the training facility rather than go on a camp. I don't think where we would be going is worth doing. Our [fixture] schedule is intense until that point, then the boys will get a break but we will just stay at home to tidy up a few things for the second half of the season.

"The biggest value in your camps is the period of time you are isolated with each other. You are with each other 24/7 so you are working every hour of the day. There is the weather and facilities to a point, but we have a lot of that with our facilities here.

"Unless everything is perfect, I'm not willing to just go on a trip. You can come back with players more discontented if you've maybe gone on a trip that is half-baked and the players can see right through it. They can go: 'We would rather have been at home with our families.'

"We have decided to do some improvements round about the training ground rather than go away."