One Direction boys are looking forward to crashing post tour

As well as their current 118-date world tour, the band are preparing for the August release of their 3D film 'This Is Us' and management are now pushing them to start work on their third studio album.

However, it's said the quintet - made up of Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne and Niall Horan - are keen to have a few months off to relax after becoming one of the biggest acts in the world over the last two years.

A source told the Daily Star Sunday newspaper: "The boys are working incredibly hard and are in desperate need of some time off.

"They want to take a full four months off at the end of the year but management are keen for them to release another album while they are such hot property.

"In an ideal world the record label would have another album out in time for Christmas, but that won't be possible."

The insider added the band are keen to use the break to write the record themselves, but label bosses don't want them to lose momentum by having a long gap after the 2012 release of 'Take Me Home'.

They said: "The boys want to take time out and write most of the third album themselves.

"But management know the group can't take too much time off to make the next record like Adele does because teenage fans are so fickle."