Hodgson wants bigger gap to World Cup

England manager Roy Hodgson admits he would prefer a longer break between the end of the season and the FIFA World Cup.

The Premier League campaign reaches its climax on May 11, although several England players could be involved in the FA Cup and UEFA Champions League finals which take place on the following two weekends.

Hodgson will name a provisional 30-man squad for the World Cup in mid-May, before England host Peru in a friendly at Wembley on May 30.

Following that, England’s squad will be trimmed down to 23 men ahead of their World Cup curtain-raiser with Italy on June 14.

With such a short turnaround, Hodgson has stated his desire for more preparation time, but acknowledges many of his counterparts are in the same boat.

In an interview with FIFA.com, he said: “I’d like a longer break, every national team coach will tell you the same.

“In an ideal world, the season would end and the players would have two to three weeks by the beach. You’d have four to five weeks of preparation and then you’d play the tournament.

“That’s never going to happen because you couldn’t possibly fit it all into a season. Because you can’t get that, everything is degrees of bad in terms of your preparation because there’s not enough time for the players to rest from one competition to another.

“But we’re not alone. Every other team is in the same boat from that perspective.”

Considering the short amount of time his players have to recharge before the marquee tournament, Hodgson is keen to ensure he does not overwork his players.

He added: “I need to be very careful, but we need to do our work and there’s a lot of work I want to do. I have to find a way of doing it but not push their players beyond their limits.

“Getting the balance right in everything is all of football and all of sport.

“We have to understand that the players we’re working with, all they’ve had is one week (of rest). Some might not even have that if they’re going to FA Cup finals and European Cup finals, which we hope they will.

“As a national coach in England, you work with the premises you work with. The Premier League is what it is. Some people will see the intensity and quality as a great advantage for your players; it will make them better.

“Some will see it as a disadvantage because the players play at such a high level and such intensity, it’s difficult for them to drum that up that intensity with a very short space of rest time.”