Tottenham Hotspur boss Mauricio Pochettino has not held back on his disappointment over the Premier League transfer window closing before the rest of Europe.
The decision was made two seasons ago with the approval of 15 of the club's chairmen to move the window to early August rather than two weeks after the season begins in order for squads to be settled before the Premier League got up and running.
It was reported at the time that only Manchester United, Manchester City, Crystal Palace, Watford and Swansea voted against it.
Now Pochettino believes that chairman like his own boss, Daniel Levy, realise they've made a mistake since with European clubs not following suit, leaving Premier League clubs vulnerable to being unsettled by bids from outside the UK once they cannot buy any replacements.
It also means foreign clubs, with some of their windows closing on September 2, have less pressure to do deals with Premier League sides during the summer when it suits the English clubs.
"I wasn't in agreement [with the decision] but at that moment they believed that was best for the clubs," said Pochettino.
"But I think he [Levy] and a lot of people now realise it was a massive mistake. I hope that we fix the problem for the next season.
"We need to go back and operate in the same way that they operate in Europe because I think it’s massive when you go to compete in the Europa League or Champions League.
"Champions League teams can create a problem for a team like us and it’s so clear that I cannot be happy as a coach that in the last three weeks clubs from Europe can unsettle your team. For me it’s not common sense and we need to go back quick, hope they have a good conversation at the Premier League and go back quickly [to how it was]."
Following Spurs' 2-2 draw at Manchester City, Pochettino was keen to point out the different way the clubs have to operate in the transfer window.
"We sign players who are young and have the potential. Tanguy Ndombele only played two seasons at Lyon, didn't win anything and we brought him here to try to make him a top player," he said.
"Giovani Lo Celso on loan from Real Betis is similar. Ryan Sessegnon is more of a potential player and, of course, we signed Jack Clarke.
"When you compare with the different teams who are in the same race as us it’s a completely different way. People understand we are playing to try to win but we have different resources to fight in the same race with teams that operate in a different way."
