PREMIER LEAGUE SCRAP PLAY-OFF IDEA

RICHARDS: Premier League chairman with Bolton's Gartside

THE PREMIER LEAGUE have scrapped the suggestion of a play-off for the final Champions League spot.

The idea has been mooted to increase excitement at the end of the season and keep the campaign alive for more clubs.

Only the top three teams would qualify for Europe's premier competition, or at least the right to play in it, with the next four sides in the table battling it out for the other place in the qualifying round.

Some managers felt it was worth exploring further while others indicated that there are too many games already to squeeze into an over-crowded fixture list.

Clubs voted against looking into the proposal in more detail at a Premier League board meeting on Thursday.

Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool were all against the idea and it didn't carry enough support to warrant further review at this time.