Erik ten Hag has joined the Jurgen Klopp school of slamming the fixture schedule in a spiky interview ahead of Manchester United's clash with Everton.
The Red Devils are the only Premier League team to have played in every midweek since the World Cup, having gone as far as they can in three cup competitions. It is placing a huge burden on United's squad, with Ten Hag ringing the changes for the visit of the Toffees.
The schedule has been squeezed by the fact the World Cup was held in the middle of the season, with the Premier League set to finish at the end of May. And in explaining why he brought Harry Maguire back into his starting line-up, Ten Hag took aim at the fixture pile-up.
"He played against Fulham, he played against Betis, he’s playing for England so he’s fit, he’s ready to play and the thinking is we have the most crazy schedule from all the Premier League teams," Ten Hag told BT Sport.
"We have three games to cover in six days - which is not right, but we have to deal with it. I see it as a project but I also know you need results. We are in a perfect situation, we couldn’t expect we were in this situation when we started last year in June - let’s be honest.
"We are in the top four, we are in the quarter final of the Europa League, we are in the semi-final of the FA Cup and we already have a cup in our pocket, so what could be better?"
Ten Hag's comments are eerily similar to that of Klopp's in recent seasons. The Liverpool manager has been a frequent critic of the fixture schedule his side are forced to comply with.
That pile-up verged on being a farce last year when the Reds played 62 games in all competitions, having reached the finals of the Carabao Cup, FA Cup and Champions League. It was a situation that left Klopp furious as he demanded more care be taken.
"This is now game 61 [of Liverpool's campaign] so we have to be really careful, that’s clear. We don’t finish the season tomorrow, that’s not our last game of the season. That would, again, be different," he said in May ahead of a clash with Southampton.
“When did Southampton have their last game before they play tomorrow? I think it was 10 days [ago] - [that's] long! So it’s completely different. OK, they might lack a little bit of rhythm, but if we make changes we lose that advantage of having rhythm as well.
“Imagine we go there with eight players who played 120 minutes. That makes no sense. So that’s why we have to make changes. I don’t know how many, we will see that and I will talk to the players obviously, but that’s tough.
"They thought the next day for us to play was Tuesday. [We] can't play Wednesday because of the Europa League final? UEFA, my friends. Why don't we have the FA Cup [as] the last game? That would have helped with celebrations because it's different when you play later."
