West Ham boss Allardyce calls for winter break
Sam Allardyce believes a lack of winter break is hampering Premier League clubs in European competition.
Chelsea were eliminated from the round of 32 in the Champions League by Paris St Germain on away goals on Wednesday night - whilst Manchester City and Arsenal both need to turn around first-leg defeats to Barcelona and Monaco, respectively if they are to advance.
Liverpool and Tottenham have been knocked out of the Europa League with only Everton still standing and Allardyce feels a heavy festive schedule always catches English clubs out.
"I think, like I have before, that we don't help ourselves with our fixture list," the West Ham boss said.
"Playing as many games as we do through Christmas and New Year and not having the opportunity to shut the league down for a few weeks gives every club that plays in Europe a disadvantage.
"When they come back to playing in Europe they may have a considerable amount of injures in certain areas and mental fatigue kicks in on players - that is bound to have an effect when other teams have had the opportunity to take a break."