ALEX FERGUSON has blamed England’s poor World Cup performance on the lack of a winter break in the Premier League season.

Sir Alex said that the FA is handicapping the English team by making them play without a break mid-season, the Guardian reports.

Ferguson has previously called for a January holiday from matches. He says demands from television schedules are forcing players to endure a longer season, which is taking a toll on England’s chances. Players who pick up injuries in the first half of the season don’t have enough time to rest up and recover before being back on the pitch.

Man United will start their pre-season warm-up by playing Philadelphia Union in the US this evening. Three hundred and eighty games are played during the Premiership season, and the first games of the 2010/11 season will kick-off on 14 August.

The Red Devils’ first game is against Newcastle on 16 August.

Ferguson recently said he’d turned down the opportunity to manage the England team on more than one occasion as he considers the job a “poisoned chalice”.