Wolves need more time off before new season, Santo

(Reuters) - Wolverhampton Wanderers manager Nuno Espirito Santo has echoed Chelsea boss Frank Lampard’s call for the Premier League to give teams in European competitions an extended break ahead of the new season, to protect the health of players.

 

Wolves host Olympiakos Piraeus on Thursday in the second leg of their Europa League last-16 tie which is evenly poised at 1-1.

 

With the new Premier League season set to begin on Sept. 12, Santo fears his players will not have enough time to recharge their batteries if they progress to the latter stages of the Europa League, whose final is scheduled for Aug. 21.

 

“I’m hopeful the Premier League will look at that and allow the teams involved a little bit more time,” the Wolves boss told British media on Wednesday. “We have a tight schedule next season and they must be aware of the health of the players.”

 

“The Premier League should acknowledge the teams involved in Europe, depending on how far they go. We are going to play in August and we’re going to start playing again in September.

 

“I’m sure they will look at it and adjust the schedule. For sure, no team will be able to give too much time for the players to recover.”

 

Santo is hoping Portuguese winger Daniel Podence, who joined Wolves from Olympiakos in January, can provide his players with the insight they need to overcome the Greek side.

 

“It’s always useful, all the details, all the info you can gather and pass to the players. Daniel is a big source of information, so we have to take all we can from him,” he said.