Former Newcastle United manager Rafa Benitez has hit out at the idea of using five subs in a game.
The Premier League is coming under increasing pressure to allow clubs to use up to five subs per match due to a hectic fixture schedule seeing an increase in injuries.
It is currently the only major leagues in Europe to not allow five subs per game, with even EFL clubs having now voted in favour of the concept.
Benitez, who now manages Chinese side Dalian Professional after leaving the Magpies in 2019, has experience of taking charge of matches that allow five subs.
Writing in his blog, the 60-year-old says it is a tactic that is exclusively used for time-wasting rather than to protect players.
He said: "In the Chinese Super League, we’ve seen a season with five substitutions, and in every game, this has been used to waste time. That’s not the point of a substitution.
"We have to manage our squad, our bench, to solve our problems on the pitch as well as managing the situation off the pitch. To reduce the number of injuries and the tiredness, we have to reduce the number of international games, the amount of travelling done; that could be one solution.
"Some fans might not know how many people are involved in a professional football team and what they do. We’ve been training in China, but the commitment from my coaching staff and the way to do things is similar to what’s done in the Premier League, La Liga or Serie A.
"In January we began our preseason in Xiamen, south-east China. Then everything started: Covid-19 changed the world, changed our lives, our way of living and obviously sport, our job.
"Football’s changed since then, we’ve been concentrated in a hotel for two months to play games without spectators, taking COVID tests every five days and using masks all the time. It’s also changed the way we train and how we manage our players."
Benitez also pointed to his own coaching staff's methods and lack of injury problems as proof that managers do not need five subs in order to prevent players from picking up injuries.
He said: "Paco de Miguel is my friend, assistant and our fitness coach since 2007. After the initial medical exam, he tests players throughout the season in body composition, stamina and strength.
"He has great experience in controlling the load of the training sessions and preventing injuries, although some of these will happen anyway depending on the intensity of the competition, the habits of the players and sometimes, it is true, out of bad luck.
"However, we do have a good record of not having too many injuries in our different teams, so that means something is right about this hard work.
"Playing two games a week is demanding, so, rotating your squad and knowing exactly how your team works is crucial. Previously, we never made five substitutions and still we managed to compete until the end of every season.
"In the past we had our knowledge and experience, plus the control of factors such as heart rate as the only way to control the load of the training sessions.
"Now, we have GPS units. Expressed in a simple way, we measure the training effort (quantity) and the accelerations and decelerations (intensity).
"Another parameter: body fat. At the end of this season, we’ve reduced the average body fat of the squad by one per cent and increased the average strength (with both general and specific work in the gym) and stamina, with specific plans for each player. We still think we can improve their stamina even more."
