Speaking ahead of Saturday’s home game against Blackburn, the Pompey manager stated: ‘I don’t think a three-week break in the midst of the season is a good thing. I believe we are better off with shorter breaks.
‘The alteration I would have made is to relocate one of the international breaks from pre-Christmas to post-Christmas to alleviate some of the pressure that we often experience post-Christmas, most likely in late January and February.
The system has gone from one extreme to the other, with three international breaks before Christmas and one after, to this three-week break, which I do not believe is conducive to good performance given the amount of game time missed.
‘I believe we would be better off playing games if we were in a good enough flow. So, yeah, it’ll be an interesting adjustment, and we’ll see how things go.
Pompey enter the game against Blackburn in 18th place in the Championship table, having earned seven points from six games. Southampton are currently three points ahead of ninth place, despite having played one more match.
England’s upcoming three-week break will include Uefa Nations League matches against Spain (September 26), Czechia (September 29 and October 6), and Croatia (October 3).
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