Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is adamant he has to take a stand over the clash between the midwinter break and FA Cup replays or nothing will ever change.
The German boss has drawn criticism for announcing that neither he nor his first-team players will be present for the fourth-round replay at home to Shrewsbury next week as it falls within their scheduled Premier League break.
Instead, the club will send out a youth team led by Under-23s coach Neil Critchley.
"If we react how we always react and find a way to do it, then nothing will change," Klopp said.
"I have to make decisions that aren't popular, based on the situation we are in.
"Because we plan long-term I cannot plan when there is a real decisive period coming up. I decided three weeks ago we would have a mid-season break based on a letter we got in April 2019.
"The FA tried to move games to midweek to decrease the intense period. Whoever was involved in that -- maybe from us -- they forgot to say no."
- Fixture frustration -
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"But that's up to Jurgen and Liverpool to make decisions. Jose (Mourinho) and Tottenham, they've got a replay. We're just happy we didn't get a replay ourselves because it was playing on our mind."
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola supported Klopp's stance, saying: "We accept the schedules and the competitions, games every two or three days, but don't tell the managers which players to pick."