Celtic manager target Eddie Howe has slammed plans for a Super League as he laid out his view on football's future.
The Englishman knows the value of the lower leagues, having taken Bournemouth from the fourth tier to the Premier League.
It's that record that's caught the attention of Celtic, who have made Howe their number one target to replace Neil Lennon.
The 43-year-old is one of the favourites for the vacant Tottenham job, but in a television appearance he made clear in no uncertain terms his view on the project Spurs have signed up for.
Howe said on DAZN Canada: "I was thinking of the smaller clubs, the supporters of those smaller clubs.
"Football for me is all about dreaming, it's about having a vision as a supporter or a player and thinking, 'could we ever get there? Could we ever achieve this?'.
"You have to have that, I think, in order for football to be the wonderful thing that it is.
"The pyramid of English football has been what's it's been for a long period of time and it's worked.
"We have a fantastic structure which feeds grassroots, the Conference teams and the Football League then the Premier League. That has to be the thing that is precious, and it has to be kept.
"We need all the football clubs to survive because they're at the hub of so many communities, they're the lifeblood of a lot of people.
"That was my first thing, the future of football and protecting those clubs at all costs."
