ALAN CURBISHLEY has refused to add his voice to the chorus of condemnation over the controversial scrapping of some FA Cup replays for clubs involved in Europe next season.

Instead, the Charlton manager prioritised the needs of the national side and those clubs playing in European competition.

His stance came in a week of serious disquiet within the Football Association following the decision that clubs involved in the UEFA Cup will not be forced to play fifth and sixth round replays, while those in the Champions League will be exempt from sixth round replays.

Curbishley explained: “From a privileged position in the Premiership I can understand the smaller clubs being up in arms.

"A club like Leicester could have forced a draw here and if it had been in the sixth round, not won a replay. It’s a money-spinning thing what with all the television revenue.

"But you have to look at the broader picture and if one of our teams win a European competition, the prestige that brings is enormous. The Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho said that when he managed his former club Porto they had five or six days to prepare for Europen cup competition.

“Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger and Mourinho are all in charge of teams that played on Saturday. Then Manchester United played in Milan on Tuesday.

“I know that Barcelona and Milan played at the weekend. But then other European countries don’t take their domestic cup competitions as seriously as we do.”

He added: “It was inevitable there would be changes _ and I believe there will be more changes to our cup competitions.

“So far as the England set-up is concerned, we have to be given more time to give us a chance of winning something. Change is coming and by that I mean an extension of the Premier League. There won’t be a reduction of clubs but I can see us playing longer.

“Some of Charlton’s international players won’t be finished until June 12 and I’m asking them to come back for pre-season on July 5. That’s three weeks’ rest and that’s why I’m not interested in playing in the Intertoto Cup."