Former Paris Saint-Germain manager Gerard Houllier says the club should not have requested the postponement of a Coupe de France game ahead of their Champions League tie against Chelsea.
The French champions face a packed schedule of seven games in three weeks before taking on their English counterparts in the first leg of a round-of-16 knockout tie on Feb. 16.
Following their Coupe de France win over Toulouse on Tuesday, PSG manager Laurent Blanc revealed that the club want the date of their next fixture in the competition to be put back.
If the French Football Federation responds positively to that request, the runaway Ligue 1 leaders would have a break of at least three days before their first meeting with Chelsea in Paris.
But Houllier, who was PSG manager from 1985-88, does not agree with the move.
"I understand what Laurent wants to say but he's wrong," the former France boss told L'Equipe. "Last year, they won everything. That allowed them to remain dynamic.
"They performed well by playing every three days and with a schedule during the cup competitions that seemed to me to be more difficult.
"The players want to play. And if you say they're tired, they're tired."
Houllier, 68, explained that he faced a similar situation at Liverpool during the 2000-01 season, when his team ended up winning the UEFA Cup, the FA Cup and the League Cup.
They also managed to finish third in the Premier League in spite of all the extra games they had to play.
"I tried to change the dates with Liverpool," Houllier said. "But the players said to me 'Coach, you're wasting your time.'
"We had four games between the first and second leg of the UEFA Cup semifinal against Barcelona, including a derby against Everton and a semifinal of the FA Cup. They're extra challenges."
PSG are still unbeaten in domestic competition this season and they have a 21-point lead in Ligue 1 after 21 matches. Their performances have not been brilliant since the turn of the year but Houllier is unconcerned because they have continued to clear every hurdle put before them.
Like the Lyon side he coached a decade ago, Houllier believes that the players will remain motivated because of the increasing stakes of the games they will play as well as the club and French records they could break.