IT’S a great idea from Phil Parkinson to get the players away to Portugal for a few days.

They’ve played 13 games on the trot since the last free midweek – and the next break from Saturday to Saturday is not until the last week of the season.

There has been no respite from the fixture schedule and they’ve needed something like this.

It’s the perfect time to get the players away, enjoy a bit of sun on their backs and the change of scenery, and make sure they are focused for what is coming up.

There is an old saying in football that you should never look back – you achieve nothing by sitting back and resting on your laurels.

It has been a great season up to now but the last thing anyone wants is to let it peter out. In a way, that would belittle the success stories from earlier.

So rather than thinking it’s over and done with now, we need to really concentrate on making the play-offs from these last ten games.

It’s doable but it’s a tough run-in. There are five Yorkshire derbies in there and we know they are always hell for leather.

I think six teams on that fixture list are capable of getting in the play-offs so that tells you how competitive these games will be. No points will be simply handed over.

City have got to be up for it because the other teams have all got something to play for.

With what they have done in the FA Cup this year, City have also become a scalp. Teams want to beat the team that beat Chelsea.

So they can’t just turn up and expect to turn clubs over – the boys have got to be bang up for it from here on in.

City managed to pick themselves up from an unbelievable cup run two years ago to reach the play-offs and they have to use that as an example.

Everyone will have a part to play – and that’s why you need the whole group to be fit and fresh to go again.

* John Hendrie, who is a consultant for LawBlacks.com, was talking to Simon Parker