Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardew has admitted he does not want his team to play in the Europa League until the format of the tournament is changed because of the difficulties of juggling it with the "physicality" of the Premier League.
Pardew's Palace side currently sit in second place in the league table after enjoying a positive start to the season, which has seen the Eagles beat champions Chelsea, Norwich and Aston Villa and narrowly lose to Arsenal.
Pardew has worked wonders after taking over the helm at Selhurst Park in January, leading the club away from the relegation zone and into a 10th-placed finish before he used the transfer market to subsequently strengthen his squad.
Palace are expected to improve on their 10th-place finish from last season this term, but Pardew has admitted he is wary of the Eagles competing in the Europa League - should they qualify for it this year.
Speaking to ESPN FC, he said: "I would not want to be (in) 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 host Manuel Pellegrini's Manchester City side at Selhurst Park on Saturday afternoon in what is a top-of-the-table clash.
While he admitted it was good to be facing the league leaders being their nearest competitors in the league table, Pardew was remaining calm about his side's impressive start to the season.
When asked about the game with City, he said: "We all look at the league table, of course we do, and it is good to hear people saying this weekend's match against Man City is a top-of-the-table clash, but we will not get ahead of ourselves.
"It's good fun for the fans that they can see us at the top end of the table, but we don't know how long we can stay there and the ambitions we have this season are still focused first and foremost on getting 40 points and securing our place in this league."
