Southgate hit back yesterday, insisting he was doing what was best for his own club, who had to play an FA Cup quarter-final replay 48 hours later.

“It’s very difficult and very hard to look into other clubs and turn around and say what team they should or shouldn’t select,” Pearce told City’s website, www.mcfc.co.uk.

“I think it’s very unfair and very, very wrong of anyone to do that.

“What you find is that any manager in the country has the whole of his squad at his disposal and he uses it as best he can.

“Middlesbrough wanted to win against us on Saturday, they didn’t lie down.

“Arsenal change their team on a weekly basis, Chelsea and one or two others do.”

Pearce pointed out he made an identical decision last season, when his side played Wigan in the Premiership two days before an FA Cup quarter-final against West Ham.

He said: “I rested eight players to go into a cup match on the Monday but no-one else from around Wigan’s position moaned about it.”

He believes Warnock’s outburst was prompted by the fact his side have lost key striker Rob Hulse to injury for the rest of the season and were dragged back into the relegation equation after Charlton beat Newcastle on Sunday.

“I think from Neil’s point of view, if you look directly at them, probably two weeks ago they felt as though the points tally they had was reasonably comfortable maybe to stay out of any problems,” Pearce said.

“Now, all of a sudden over the weekend, they’ve lost Hulse, one of their mainline strikers, and also they’re the next team that Charlton have got in their sights at this moment in time.

“So that’s obviously frustrated him a touch, I would suspect.”