Source: FOOTYMAD
Bolton boss unhappy at international timing
Owen Coyle, the Bolton Wanderers manager, has criticised the August international fixtures - which come days before the start of the Premier League season. Gary Cahill is the only Bolton player with much hope of being in England's squad to face Hungary on Wednesday, but Coyle will still see his preparation for their game against Fulham the following Saturday disrupted. When manager of Burnley at this time last season Coyle suffered a blow when his captain Steven Caldwell was injured while with the Scotland team, ruling him out for most of the season. "It's a nonsense. You are working for five weeks in a pre-season to prepare your team for a difficult season ahead in the Premier League, and all of a sudden, in the most important week of build-up, you don't have your players, or at least three-quarters of your squad," said Coyle. "We have to give balance to it by saying that there is no better honour than representing your country and totally understanding that. But these are not qualifiers, these are friendly matches, and I'm pretty sure within the calendar there is another date they could have found for these games. "All of a sudden as a manager you are worrying about three-quarters of your squad picking up injuries, travelling halfway across the world, and then looking to have them fresh for the opening game of the season. I think we are all agreed that, for us, it is ridiculous."
