SOUTHAMPTON boss Claude Puel has criticised the standard in the Premier League due to time restraints – and believes there is too much pressure on managers.
The Frenchman has enjoyed a mixed bag of results since arriving from Nice in the Summer and has been faced with the tough life of a Premier League boss since having taken over from Ronald Koeman.
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But while his Saints side are slowly but steadily trying to build something exciting on the south coast after finishing 8th, 7th and 6th in the past three seasons, he is still faced with issues.
The main one is having to constantly replace key players such as Sadio Mane, Adam Lallana, Morgan Schneiderlin and Dejan Lovren.
And while he praised English football in a candid interview with France Football, he explained numerous downsides, particularly in why the standard of football could perhaps be of a higher quality.
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He said: "Collectively, it could be better, but when 15 players from your squad leave for 10 days for internationals and you have three games a week, and that’s the same for many clubs, you don’t always find the time to work and refine things. Even with video technology.
But it was also off the pitch issues such as TV money and over-zealous owners in the English game that fell into Puel's firing line.
He added: "Considering the amounts being spent, the amount of TV rights and the financial catastrophe that is relegation to the Championship, the expectations quickly put the managers under pressure.
“And because there are now a lot of foreign investors who, despite being passionate, don’t necessarily possess a footballing culture or club culture, this creates an additional type of impatience."
It rings true given the amount of sackings we have seen so far this season in the professional English game as games are not won - but Puel seems to be on an even keel, having overseen a historic win the Europa League at home to Inter Milan.
But they also lost their second Premier League game on the spin to Hull on Sunday, leaving them 10th in the table after 11 games played.
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