Peter Coates claims the large amount of overseas players in English football has hampered the national team. He now hopes incoming rules on home-grown squad members in the Barclays Premier League will help to solve the problem.

From next season, clubs will name 25-man squads with at least eight players who are home-grown - trained for three years under the age of 21 in England or Wales - something Coates feels is an important step in the right direction.

"I have always thought it was a problem," the Stoke chairman told the Sentinel.

"It reminds me of cricket where there were so many overseas players that the sport took steps to change it.

"That is being addressed in football with the new quota system which will improve things - and most of Europe is signing up to that UEFA initiative.

"The Premier League is enormously successful and part of that is because it has star players from around the world.

"We want that to continue, but also want English football to be successful."