JIM Duffy admits he’d rather be in the trenches plotting the downfall of an opponent this weekend than have a day off.

Duffy’s Ton are out of action this afternoon after last Saturday’s 1-0 loss to Livingston at Cappielow, and they won’t kick a ball again until next week when they square-off against Allan Johnston’s Dunfermline in Greenock.

But the manager says he would prefer the opportunity to make up for last week’s loss immediately to get his side back on track once again.

He told the Tele: “I’d prefer to have a game as usual, absolutely. 

“Obviously when you don’t have the best result, you want a game as soon as you can to get yourself back on track again.

“It doesn’t always work that way but that’s what we would prefer. So absolutely I’d like a game this weekend, but that’s the way it is. 

“Therefore we have to now make sure it gives us enough time to clear our heads and have a wee re-think. 

“Then we’ll look forward to the next game in a week’s 
time.”

Ton’s players have trained all week despite the absence of a fixture this afternoon, and Duffy insists he has brought them in for a reason. 
Fitness isn’t the issue, but the 58-year-old revealed he is desperate for his team to rediscover their mental edge to win.
He said: “We expressed to the players a couple of weeks ago that we were going to change the intensity in training. 

“We wanted to up the levels a little bit, especially in the early part of the week, to give us that bit of desire and drive in our game.

“It wasn’t evident that much last Saturday but the opportunity of not having a game today means we get to top that up a little bit. 

“Fitness has never been an issue at the club, it’s just the sharpness and that little bit of alertness to situations and being switched on mentally to things.”