PERHAPS not to the extent of some of his boozier playing days under Brian Clough, but Martin O’Neill believes sensible drinking has a beneficial role in English football.

Although the Black Cats boss sees mid-season rest as more important than refreshment.

Today’s Premier League opponents, Queens Park Rangers, were criticised last week after reports of a “stag party” of a week in Dubai, painting a picture of heavy drinking sessions almost with the odd short training stint when time allowed.

Manager Harry Redknapp angrily denied the claims, and O’Neill – who also took Sunder-land to the Middle East that week – is in no rush to condemn QPR, who won 2-1 at Southampton hours after the stories were published.

“If you win the game, doing the conga outside somebody’s room would be taken as normal behaviour!” O’Neill joked. “If you lose the game, it would be reprehensible.

“For us it was more a case of ticking over, and getting players like Danny Graham involved. There would have been a couple of days where he was playing alongside Steven Fletcher, and a couple of days when they were on opposite sides.

“Overall the idea was to work together and the new players getting to know the other boys a wee bit more quickly. (January signings Alfred) N’Diaye and (Kader) Mangane are definitely non-drinkers anyway.”

Whether QPR’s players hit the bar or not, O’Neill thinks that can work in a squad’s favour.

“As long as you’re not over-playing it, there’s an element of that,” he commented. “Regardless of all the changes made in the modern game, I still believe it exists.

“The modern-day player would have a better idea of how to look after himself than 20-odd years ago.

“I don’t know where the (QPR) story came from, but the chances are it was from a player who was not in the team.”