STOURPORT Swifts boss Mark Phillips believes clubs at their level of football would benefit from a mid-winter break.

It follows a week of inactivity after Swifts had last Saturday’s Midland League Premier match with Lye Town called off, together with a midweek trip to Division One side Cadbury Athletic in the Midland League Cup.

Phillips insisted: “This happens every year. This time it’s flooding, last year it was a cold snap and frozen pitches. We could do with a break in late December or early January. It’s something I’ve advocated for a long time.”

Phillips revealed: “The referee came to inspect the pitch on Saturday morning ahead of the Lye Town game. There was no surface water on the pitch but when the ref kicked the ball high into the air, it didn’t even bounce when it landed back down."

With the game postponed, Swifts embarked on an impromptu training session behind the goal. But Phillips admitted: “We trained for an hour, but it was a complete joke really. The surface was so wet that players couldn’t run on it and change direction. Every time they did, they fell over!

Swifts are scheduled to visit third-placed Heanor Town in a Midland League contest this Saturday – but Phillips is less than optimistic the game will take place, even though Heanor were able to play at home last Friday when they lost 3-2 to Shepshed.

Thankfully Swifts shouldn’t have any difficulty training this week as they have booked sessions at King Charles School in Kidderminster and Stourport Leisure Centre.

Phillips is also resisting temptation to change his squad despite a recent downturn in results.

He puts the drop in form down to heavy pitches, which he insists don’t suit Swifts’ style. He said: “I won’t be bringing in any new players just for the sake of it – only if they can add something to the squad.”