Sir Alex Ferguson has lent his weight to the argument that a winter break should be introduced into English football as Scottish clubs enter a three-week respite from their league programme. The majority of Premiership teams played three games in six days over the festive period although the weather forced several games to be called off.
The Manchester United manager agrees that both the pitches and the players would benefit from a break and he is not alone in his beliefs, with Southampton and former England manager Glenn Hoddle calling for the Premier League to follow the example set North of the border.
It is not the first time Sir Alex has advocated a mid-season break, which he feels would refresh the players ready for the second half of the season, as he revealed:
"I've been saying for a few years that the Premiership should have a winter break in line with the other Leagues in Italy, Spain and France.
"It's madness that we keep playing on, cramming more games than ever into the holiday period and putting more of a burden on our players."
"The Premiership is faster, more competitive and more physically demanding than any League in Europe and we need to be protecting our players - not subjecting them to this kind of a battering."
Ferguson feels that the break gives continental teams an advantage in the latter stages of European competitions, making it harder for English teams to progress.
"I know it's tradition that games are played on Boxing Day and New Years Day, but in Italy and Spain at this time of year they shut down - then come back nice and refreshed later in January ready to step up their efforts in the European games," he explained.
"At United we've seen the benefits of a mid-season break after our trip to Brazil last year to play in the Fifa World Club Championship.
"We had some excellent training sessions out there, playing with the sun on our backs and relaxing - it was wonderful recuperation for the players after a hard first five months of the season."
A poll conducted by the LMA showed that 80 per cent of league managers were in favour of some kind of mid-season break in English football.
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