Newcastle manager Sam Allardyce has called for action to prevent clubs being penalised for recruiting top international players.
The Magpies will complete a gruelling run of fixtures tomorrow when they visit
Manchester City in the Premier League for their third match in a week.
Allardyce's men beat West Ham 3-1 in the league on Sunday before going down
2-0 at Arsenal in the Carling Cup barely 48 hours later, and now face a tough
trip to Eastlands tomorrow lunchtime desperate to bounce back.
That all followed a lacklustre defeat at lowly Derby in the wake of the break
for international matches which, Allardyce is discovering, is no break for clubs
fielding teams full of international players.
He said: 'It is a constant battle for the big four, so just listen to what
they say and you will know exactly what I am saying. It's not an excuse, it's a fact. It's a reality that we have to live with.
'We had 14 players all over the world playing two games, Friday-Tuesday if it
was under-21s, or Saturday-Wednesday, and then tripping all the way back over
here.
'I used to look at the fixtures when I was at Bolton and used to pray that
when we got the big boys, it was either between international fixtures or
between Champions League fixtures and I could set out the stall.
'Very few of my players would be away on international duty or we were not
playing in Europe and we would have a full squad ready to match them in the
physical areas - in fact, be better than them because of their fatigue.
'That often brought us very good results - when you win at Old Trafford twice
on the trot, you have got to stand up and listen to what I am saying.'
Ironically, Tuesday's defeat at the Emirates Stadium means Newcastle's fixture
list will be less busy than they might have hoped during the next few months,
although Allardyce will see his internationals head off again next month for
Euro 2008 double-headers.
However, the ongoing saga surrounding star striker Michael Owen's groin injury
means he is likely to remain on Tyneside throughout as the Magpies face up to
losing him for at least three weeks.
Shola Ameobi (groin) is likely to join him on the sidelines this weekend but
Mark Viduka is expected to shake off a foot injury to partner Obafemi Martins in
attack.
However, while goals will be a major focus this weekend, preventing them at
the other end will once again be one of Allardyce's priorities against
Sven-Goran Eriksson in-form side.
He said: 'That's the ultimate to your success. The team that wins the league
is the one with the most clean sheets, that will never change.
'That's all that really matters - if you can win and entertain, that's even
better. You will always be forgiven if you play poorly and win.'
