Caldwell calls on EFL to change rules on internationals

Gary Caldwell's side are 11th in League One, two points off the play-off places

Exeter City manager Gary Caldwell has called on the English Football League to change its rules around postponing games due to international call-ups.

Clubs in League One and League Two can have games postponed if they have three or more players away with their countries, but must request by 17:00 GMT on the Sunday before the following Saturday's game.

On-loan Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder Kamari Doyle was called up to England's Under-20 squad on Monday after a player pulled out over the weekend.

Exeter already had Northern Ireland striker Josh Magennis and Finland winger Ilmari Niskanen called up, but the deadline for a postponement had passed.

"I think it's a wider issue that the league needs to look at. League One now is as at a level of quality where most teams have international players," Caldwell told BBC Radio Devon ahead of Saturday's game with Lincoln City.

"We are one of the lower budgets in the league yet we have two full international players who have been away every camp.

"We have younger players who have always been on standby, Kamari's been called up this time and we have other players that could play for their country.

"So I think the whole league now needs to look at it because for me it's not just playing games without your full squad through fault of your own, but teams on 15 games, teams on 13 games it changes the league.

"The integrity of the league, for me, can get called into question and it shouldn't be the case.

"It's a fantastic league, it's full of quality, let's just make sure that every team has a full quota of players for every game."

The Premier League and Championship routinely shut down over the international breaks.

Seven of the third tier's scheduled 12 fixtures this weekend have been postponed due to international commitments.

The top two sides in the division - Wycombe Wanderers and Birmingham City - will sit out this round of matches, while third-placed Wrexham, Barnsley in fourth and Lincoln City in fifth play.

Meanwhile, the bottom three teams - Burton Albion, Shrewsbury Town and Cambridge United are without a game while the two teams above them - Crawley and Leyton Orient - do play.

While the break allows a spotlight to be shone on the lower divisions, Caldwell says the uncertainty around fixtures during international windows is a problems for all sides in the division.

"It's not just the games, it's preparing training when it's on or it's off," he explained.

"Even finding out when it's off would be a big problem for us as a staff, how we train the players and the loads they need this week and how we adjust all that is a big issue.

"So knowing the fixtures at the start of the season would be a huge help to everyone.

"With the quality and number of internationals every team has now, I think it should be similar to the Championship and we have those dates called off."