England have risked reigniting a battle with the Premier League's elite clubs after Franco Baldini, the new general manager, insisted strenuous double training sessions would be the norm before games.

Relations between Sven-Goran Eriksson and the likes of Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger were occasionally strained because the top clubs were worried that their players might be overworked by England, reports The Guardian.

Cooperation seemed to improve under Steve McClaren but Fabio Capello has said he will have no qualms about selecting players from major clubs for friendlies, and Baldini believes that work is required on flawed techniques.

When asked about the level of skill England showed during Wednesday's defeat of Switzerland, Baldini replied: "It will be better. This is England, so England have to play like England, but maybe a little bit better. The English culture is, after two or three passes, the crowd is asking for the ball [through the air]. We have to try and play more. But to play in this way [with the ball on the ground] we need more technical skill. We have to practise, practise, practise. Maybe some managers here will not approve of this, but we have to try."

Capello has had strained relations with Wenger and Ferguson as a club coach. "I can rotate players up to a certain extent," he said, "but I need to get to know players."