Research by BBC Sport has found that just 170 (34.1 per cent) of the 498 players who started matches in the English top flight during the 2007-08 season were English.
The figure represents a substantial decline from the previous season, 2006-07, when 191 (38 per cent) of starters were English.
However, he stressed: "But more important is quality, the level of the player. At the moment the total is 34 per cent but the level (i.e., the quality) is high. The work being done in the academies is very important. We probably have to change the system of training for young players.
"At Under-21, and younger national teams, we have a lot of good players. For the future, I hope next season is not 34 per cent but 40 per cent. It will be better for me and England football."
In last week's Champions League final, two English teams fielded 10 Englishmen among the 22 starters, but as European Championships are about to kick-off without England present, the diminishing pool of home grown talent is a concern.
Arsenal had the fewest English starters, averaging 0.34 per match, and West Ham United the most at 6.61.
In fact West Ham and Aston Villa (6.42) were the only two clubs in the Barclays Premier League to average more than six English starters last season.
The 'Big Four': Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool, averaged only 2.64 between them per game.
