Everton manager Roberto Martinez has insisted that the Football Association must help teams who are aiming to qualify for European competition if the Premier League is to hold on to its four Champions League spots.
The English top flight faces losing a top-level European place if its teams fail to progress adequately in Europe, and though Manchester City have qualified from their Champions League group with a match to spare, Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal all face possible group-stage exits.
Martinez insists that the FA must seize the initiative by shuffling fixtures accordingly to give teams an extra 24 hours of recovery after a European match.
He told The Sun: "The question is do we need to give help to those teams in Europe? The answer is yes, we should help the teams representing the Premier League and the English game. Other countries do it. If we can give them an extra 24 hours recovery it makes a big, big difference, and if we can change the kick-off times it helps. If you can give teams a home game after they have played away in Europe, it helps.
"I just feel that everyone involved in the British game has a responsibility to help. We should not punish our teams playing in Europe because it is our coefficient and we could end up losing a position. Travel and preparation are as good as it gets now but sometimes it is not the physical fatigue, it is a psychological one.
"Maybe in other leagues when you are at 70% you can still get a result, but here if you are not at 95% you have no chance to be competitive — never mind get a win."
Everton, who are pushing for a top-six spot themselves, face Bournemouth on the South Coast on Saturday.
Tom Nightingale
