Oliver Glasner has taken aim at the English Football League over what he believes is a clear lack of consideration for his Crystal Palace side while they juggle Conference League commitments.
Palace have seemingly found it difficult to readjust to domestic action after European nights, managing just one win following eight Conference League fixtures this campaign.
The Eagles are preparing to face Arsenal in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday evening – a tie scheduled a week later than the other quarter-finals after the EFL rearranged the match due to Palace’s clash with Finnish outfit KuPS last Thursday.
However, Palace’s calendar has become increasingly congested, having faced Manchester City just four days before that European fixture. Glasner’s side then travelled to Leeds only two days later.
As a result, the Palace manager has voiced his frustration with the EFL, arguing that clubs competing in the Champions League or Europa League would not be subjected to the same demands.
‘This is the only criticism for me to the EFL,’ Glasner said following Palace’s 4-1 defeat at Leeds.
‘I think to fix a round when a Conference League is played just shows also the [lack of] respect for the Conference League because they would never fix a round when there is a Champions League round or a Europa League round.
‘So I think that’s maybe the problem for the game we have to play now, and why we have to play in three days again.
‘But it shows that we are in four competitions and we want these games, we want this amount of games, and it’s not to complain about it. We are never complaining about the amount of games.’
Palace, whose match against Leeds was their fourth in a 10-day stretch, welcome Tottenham on Sunday. That fixture then begins a demanding sequence of four games across just 11 days.
The EFL has previously expressed concern over the ‘expansion of European cup competitions’, stating in November that the changes were implemented ‘without adequate consultation with domestic leagues’.
It also acknowledged that scheduling clashes are ‘now entirely unavoidable’, despite its ‘willingness to compromise’.