Pardew wants schedule changes

Newcastle boss Alan Pardew has urged the football authorities to take another look at the Christmas schedule to help out both clubs and the England team.

The Magpies played their fifth game in 19 days when they beat Manchester United on Wednesday and face Blackburn in the FA Cup third round on Saturday, and Pardew believes that is perhaps one fixture too many.

He said: "The thing that the FA and the Premier League must be wary of is that players playing with fatigue can get injured, and this is what happens."

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