Sheffield United manager Kevin Blackwell has hit out at the latest round of international friendlies he feels impacted on his side's Carling Cup chances. The Blades had four players on international duty as they went down 2-0 in the first round at Hartlepool on Tuesday night and Blackwell is unhappy at the disruption caused by their absence.
Blackwell, whose side drew 1-1 at Cardiff in their opening league game, said: "We only finished the World Cup a few weeks ago, league managers are just getting their teams sorted out and we have an international friendly straight away.
"With the economy starting to dictate we carry smaller squads, we can't cope with three or four players being called up at once.
"Teams sometimes can't fill the seven seats on the bench even when there are no internationals."
Source: PA