Manchester United boss Ralf Rangnick has joked that the notion of doing away with the traditional Premier League festive schedule is the same as "abolishing the Queen".
The English top-flight has long been the only major European league to continue playing domestic games all the way through the winter without a break.
A change in format has been suggested this season as the latest Covid-19 wave has led to multiple postponements, but Rangnick would be opposed to a break in historical convention.
What's been said?
Speaking ahead of United's trip to Newcastle on Monday night, the German head coach told MUTV: “I’ve watched Premier League football for the last 40 years, so when it was also the First Division, and I know what kind of tradition it is to play football over Christmas and on Boxing Day, the 27th, the 30th and even New Year’s Day or the 2nd January.
"So if somebody came across the idea to abolish [that] then we might as well speak about abolishing the five o’clock tea or the Queen or whatever – this is all part of the tradition of this country and I’m very much looking forward to being part of this for the first time in my career."
Rangnick suggests dropping Carabao Cup
Getty ImagesUnited's interim manager may be against altering the Premier League schedule, but he has offered an alternative suggestion to deal with congestion issues.
Rangnick thinks English football should follow the blueprint of the Bundesliga, La Liga, Ligue 1 and Serie A by having only one domestic cup competition.
He also called for five substitutions to be brought back in amid the rising number of Covid-19 cases across the division, adding: "In the future does it still make sense to have two cup competitions? All other big European leagues have only one so this might be an issue worth talking about again and, of course, we are also discussing that it makes sense to have five subs instead of three now we have COVID times again.
"The reason the five substitutes were implemented was for COVID, now we have a COVID situation again and we still have 18 players on the team-sheet. For me, it makes sense to be able to substitute not just three, but five players."