England coach Roy Hodgson has criticised Premier League managers for viewing international breaks as a hindrance to their key players' performance.

The 65-year-old believes that playing for one's country should be a matter of pride and should be taken seriously both by club managers and the players.

"I would like to see the international break being taken seriously," BBC Sport quotes him as saying. "How many players are playing 55 games? When you add up all the minutes for some players, it's not even 19 games.

"I'd still like to see it as a time when players go to play for their international teams. These breaks are being seen as the 10-day break that players don't always get during the season. It concerns me that we are guilty of accepting 'it's the international break so we can give the player 10 days off or go to Dubai'.

"If you're a club manager now, you've got no excuse. You can easily plan your time around these blocks. If your players need a rest, it's not obligatory that it has to be during the international break. It can be during the other 40-odd weeks of the year."

England are currently second in their 2014 World Cup qualifying Group H, two points behind leaders Montenegro.