IT was not all bad news for Kevin Davies this week.

The Wanderers striker missed the Guimaraes game after suffering a recurrence of the rib injury he picked up in the previous UEFA Cup game against Zenit St Petersburg.

But he had the consolation of being able to spend some precious time at home with his young family - time that has been in short supply this season as Wanderers have had to adjust to a hectic schedule of domestic and European football.

Sam Allardyce has set a new trend with his European travel arrangements - extending trips by 24 hours in an effort to give the players more time to recover and prepare for the following weekend.

But this time he plumped for a third night's stay in Portugal, flying his players back into London today in readiness for Sunday's game at Fulham.

"Altogether it means the lads having four nights away from their families and that can be hard at times," said Davies, who was due to join the squad in London. "But we can't complain.

"We said at the start of the season that we were going to have to make some sacrifices if we wanted to be successful and that is just the way it has to be.

"Seeing less of our families is the price we are prepared to pay for success."

Nevertheless, Allardyce still manages to keep his players sweet.

"The gaffer is always prepared to give us extra time off, because he recognises that we are working hard," Davies added.