MANCHESTER, England - Sven-Goran Eriksson believes the four-week break he has demanded for his squad before next year's World Cup could make the difference between England coming home as flops or heroes.
Internal wrangling within the English Football Association has cast doubt on whether next season's domestic fixtures will end in time for England's home-based players to have the break demanded by Eriksson.
But as far as the Swede is concerned, the principle of a compressed season has been accepted and should be honoured.
"The (2006) FA Cup final will be played on May 13 when the season will finish. That is what the people have told me," he said.
"For me, that is a guarantee. I don't have any concerns about that. I can't see any reason how and why they should go back on that."
Eriksson has seen England squads wilt at the quarter-final stage of the last World Cup and at Euro 2004 and insisted proper physical preparation was crucial if David Beckham and co. were to realise their full potential.
"It's even more important for the England team than other teams in Germany or Spain or whatever, as we are the only country in Europe not to have a winter break," he argued.
"If we have one week's less preparation at the end of the season as well, that says everything.
"It might seem stupid but one week is like gold. It's absolutely vital for the players as I will do absolutely nothing with them that week. That will help them physically and mentally.
"It would not be impossible to win the World Cup without it. We had three weeks before Portugal and Japan, but the fitness levels were never good enough for us.
"In fact, one of the reasons we went out, especially in Japan, was the fitness levels."
Ironically, Eriksson has found himself on the defensive over the issue of player fatigue in recent weeks with the Arsenal and Manchester United managers, Arsene Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson, criticising plans for England's trip to the United States at the end of May.
Eriksson responded by highlighting the fact that England could have asked for players to be made available in early June, when many countries will be playing World Cup qualifiers.
"Before the fixture list was made for the qualification games, I had only one request - no games in June," Eriksson said.
"I didn't care whether we played the first three games away or at home. Most other countries are playing twice in June.
"The reason I did that was because I wanted the players to have a long rest before the World Cup year."
03/22/2005 20:40 GMT