With the Whites preparing to make their long-awaited return to the pitch, we caught up with Tyrese Francois ahead of our FA Cup fixture with Bristol City on Saturday.
What have the last few weeks been like for the squad?
It’s been tough with games getting cancelled last minute. We’ve had a good few sessions the last few days and spirits are high so I feel like we are just raring to get some games under our belts.
What sort of challenge is it having to prepare for games and then having them cancelled last minute?
It’s difficult, especially when you’re going into a week knowing you’ve got the game on the Saturday, and it gets to Thursday or Friday and then suddenly it gets cancelled so it’s just about staying positive and staying ready. We’ve got a challenge on Saturday against Bristol [City] and then the fixtures come fast after that so we’re all ready to go.
Has the forced break helped the squad in any way?
It’s given us time to work on some things but the way we show that is by playing games, which we haven’t been able to do over the last couple of weeks. It’s given us a bit of a reset and now we’re ready to go.
I don’t know how many days or weeks it’s been, but the FA Cup will be a good little warm up and then we can get going from there.
Was it nice to get to spend Christmas with the family this year?
Yeah, I think especially for a lot of the older boys who have never had Christmas off before. It was a strange Christmas for footballers, but we can’t complain; we got to spend time with our family.
What do you expect from Bristol City this weekend?
They’re a tough side. A lot of energy, fit team, strong side. It will be hard but it’s a good challenge and we will be up for it.
