NEIL WARNOCK is expecting an above-par performance from his Middlesbrough players at Stoke City tomorrow – because he gave them the green light to prepare for the trip to the Bet365 Stadium by playing nine holes on the golf course.

With just two days of preparation time between Wednesday’s victory over Swansea City and tomorrow’s game with the Potters, plenty of managers would have crammed in a couple of double sessions and ensured every aspect of their players’ physical recovery was micro-managed.

While Warnock is happy to listen to his sports scientists, he has always been a manager that likes to go with his gut instincts. So instead of telling his players to report to the Rockliffe Hall training ground yesterday morning, he sent a group to the neighbouring golf complex instead.

As well as protecting their bodies, Warnock wants his players to rest their minds. Having successfully honed their golf skills, they should be able to get right back into the swing of things when they line up against Stoke.

“Preparation? We had a day off,” said the Middlesbrough manager. “We all had a holiday! Paddy (McNair) and a few of the lads went off and had nine holes of golf. I was going to join them, but when I saw it raining, I thought, ‘That’s not for me’. If we lose at Stoke, you can blame the golf on Thursday!

“The rest and relaxation is important though – it’s just as important as the fitness stuff. I see a lot of people, especially the young managers, and they have all the stats about what the players supposedly need. My logic has always been that if you’re going to bring someone driving into the training ground for an hour or an hour-and-a-half to do a little warm-up or warm-down, then surely you’ve got to trust your players?

“Sometimes, I think people do things for the sake of doing them, whereas I don’t give a damn really. I don’t mind telling anybody that they played golf – if I get stick, I get stick. Rest is so important, and if I can save a lad from having to drive for a couple of hours in a day, and they can have a bit more relaxation, that’s great.

“I trust them, so I hope they don’t let me down. They need to have a walk to get that lactic acid out of their system the day after a game, so nine holes of golf is perfect. About six of them did that yesterday.”

Warnock’s somewhat unorthodox methods will continue throughout the festive period, with the Boro boss absolutely adamant his players will not be training on Christmas Day.

“No, we won’t be training,” he said. “A lot of clubs will – but we won’t because I trust them. I’d rather they had a walk with their kids or a stroll with their partners, and not be rushing about on Christmas morning with presents then dashing to come training. I want them to relax. I think the psychological side of things is just as important.”

Warnock enjoys being somewhat unconventional, and remembers a time three decades ago when a future England manager benefited from following his lead.

“Glenn Hoddle was at Swindon when I was at Notts County,” he said. “We had a man sent off against them, but won 2-1. I saw Glenn in the boardroom afterwards and he said, ‘We didn’t work hard enough today – I’m going to have them in tomorrow to do some more work’.

“I said, ‘Can I tell you what I would do Glenn? I’d have them in tomorrow – but I’d take them for a Chinese’. He laughed, but I said, ‘Have you seen the forecast tomorrow? It’s gale-force winds and rain – you’ll get nothing out of them’. Anyhow, on the Saturday, they won 5-0. They didn’t go to a Chinese - but they went to an Indian instead!”