West Ham United manager Sam Allardyce is hoping that a squad holiday to Dubai can help the club to avoid a relegation battle.
The Hammers have been in poor form as of late and were beaten 2-1 at struggling Aston Villa on Sunday.
A similar break to the Middle East last season helped the Londoners lose just once in their remaining 14 Championship games as they secured promotion to the Premier League, and Allardyce is hoping to repeat the feat this year.
"It worked last year, we had a fantastic finish to the season and I still think the trip that we had at this time last year was a big benefit in the end for getting us promoted into the Premier League," Allardyce said on West Ham TV.
"I have talked to a lot of managers and they have already taken the opportunity to get away when they can, a few more [teams] are going around the same time as us and some more afterwards. Nearly everybody does it today which obviously is a benefit to you and the team, and the results when you come back.
"When they are in gloves and hats, it is hard to keep them warm, you have to keep them going. It is not an ideal environment. When the lads can train in short sleeves and shorts, they don't want to finish training, they just want to carry on. You get an awful lot more out of them. The benefits mentally will be massive. So to go away and recuperate physically and mentally is a big, big thing for us."
West Ham host Tottenham Hotspur in their next match on February 25.
Matt Cotton
