Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardew has claimed that he would not want his side to qualify for the Europa League under its current format.
Pardew reached the quarter-finals with Newcastle United in 2013, when they were knocked out by Benfica who went on to lose to Chelsea in the final.
Despite making it to the last eight, Pardew told ESPN that the Thursday night fixtures take their toll on squads and reaching the tournament with Palace in the future is not a priority.
He said: "I would not want to be the Europa League in the current format, that's for sure. Thursday night games are difficult to contend with given the level of physicality we deal with in the Premier League.
"We struggled with it at Newcastle and we were not alone in that among the English clubs. Until that issue is addressed, no Premier League team wants to be in the Europa League. That's the reality, even if some don't want to admit it."
Palace have an outside chance of finishing in the top 10, sitting in 12th, two points behind Everton and West Ham United with one game remaining.
Michael Hincks
