Back from the game

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I agree with those who say we need to have the fitness to play three games in a week, so tiredness is not a great excuse. But I think there's an additional mitigating factor. The hype around our first week has been enormous and has been building for some time. I suspect our players were not so much physically tired as mentally, especially given the way the Boro and Villa games unfolded. As Coppell said, it's been hard to move without a camera in your face. The first two games were played in a cup-final atmosphere and I imagone there was lost sleep and heightened nerves all round. That environment won't happen again - not for a while anyway - and the international break comes at a good time, even for the internationals.