Gareth Southgate believes the short break following the World Cup has affected players' freshness.GETTY IMAGES
England Manager Gareth Southgate suggested players were "put at risk" after the Premier League season "kicked off too soon" following the conclusion of the World Cup, according to Dominic Fifield of the London GUARDIAN. Southgate, whose side played Spain in its latest Nations League fixture on Monday, "expressed sympathy for his counterparts at club level" who had been put in an "impossible situation," picking players "left jaded by their lack of recovery time since Russia." Southgate admitted some of those who were "denied rest" and, subsequently, a proper preseason, have lacked "psychological freshness" as a result, "for all that the likes of Harry Kane have insisted they are fit and ready to represent their country." Southgate: "I think it’s psychological freshness, rather than physical. Everyone adapts their training load appropriately. But I think when you see the league, there are a lot of teams who haven’t started yet at the level when they are at their maximum" (GUARDIAN, 10/14).
