“It helped to have this to aim for. We knew it was going to be a tough month with a lot of games and a lot of hard work, but at the end of it we had the chance to come away here and get a bit of rest.
Gordon added: “I came out to Dubai early with the family and had a nice break and everyone enjoyed it. The weather is always perfect and it was great to get away and have that week of relaxation.
“It gives your body a rest for a week or two. It was quite punishing, playing two or three game a week towards the end of last month, so having that rest lets your body calm down and get any little injuries or things you have been carrying sorted out.
“You come back with that freshness in the second half of the season and, hopefully, it will show in performances in that we don’t have dig out results which we had to do during December.
“We had a few one-nils and had to scrape a few results, but getting that freshness back in legs that we can take into the rest of the season and, hopefully, everyone will see a better team for it.
“We now have a week of training which will be needed after a week off. After not training for four or five days, you feel the need to get back out there and start again, so I’m looking forward to a good week’s training.”
