Sunderland boss Gus Poyet has called for a winter recess introduced for the Premier League.
Poyet wants to accommodate a realistic fortnight gap in the season which he says would benefit the England team, as well as squads like his own who face a mountain of fixtures in the Barclays Premier League survival bid.
He said: "For us, from now to the end of January is going to be a nightmare. I'm not complaining but I cannot understand why we don't have a break. It's so simple and so natural everywhere else.
"We have to stop this craziness. It is so many games and times playing and preparing for games, listening, concentrating, getting tired, getting over disappointments, enjoying the happiness of winning.
"The only explanation I've ever had is that we always play on Boxing Day and, I'm a traditional person and think we should play on Boxing Day, but from the 27th, we should be off and then come back in the middle of January for the FA Cup third round. I've been in England for 17 years and we've been talking about this for 17 years.
"Two games were abandoned this week and one was nearly called off and this is natural because it's winter. And we're expecting high winds on Saturday.
"We are not looking for a winter break to go to Dubai. I want to have a break so the players can relax and get away from football.
"On coaching courses you are taught to play, then analyse the game but we have no time. We are not going to be able to do that because there is no time - it's bang, bang, bang."
