The Premier League has insisted it will be a sign of strength rather than weakness if the �big four� clubs are battling it out at the top once more this season.

Simon Stone

The Premier League has insisted it will be a sign of strength rather than weakness if the "big four" clubs are battling it out at the top once more this season.

Apart from a one-year intrusion from Everton in the 2004/05 season Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal have dominated the top positions since the 2003/04 season.

Strong showings are expected from Tottenham, Portsmouth, Aston Villa and Manchester City this season, but few are predicting the elite will be gatecrashed this term, leading to accusations that England's top flight is becoming boring.

However, Richard Scudamore, the Premier League chief executive, argues the competition retains its lustre.

"There is a difference between competitiveness and interest," Scudamore said.

"Theoretically, everyone can win the Premier League; realistically they cannot.

"I call it the Tiger Woods factor. Tiger Woods winning every week does not reduce interest, it creates interest.

"Last season was fantastic, everything was played out right to the end, with so much at stake. Then two of our clubs reached the Champions League final. It will be difficult to have another season as good as that again."

Scudamore does accept that having the same team at the top every year would be detrimental to the health of the competition. If he believes it would be a bad thing for Manchester United to win it once more he would not say so, however, and having seen periods of dominance begin and then end just as quickly, remains calm about the current situation.

"What we must avoid is one club winning it on a sustained basis," he said. "But I have seen Manchester United win it three times on the trot and Chelsea win it twice.

"On both occasions people said they will win it 10 years in a row. Even United fans were saying they would not get anywhere near Chelsea but look what happened."

Scudamore remains convinced global interest in the Premier League means the controversial international dimension is worth further discussion.

There was widespread antagonism towards the idea of a 39th game to be played overseas, he and his team are now looking at alternatives.

One idea is to play a round of friendlies during a winter break, although a disappointing crowd for the recent match between Manchester United and Portsmouth in Nigeria proves work still needs to be done on ticket pricing.

"It is hard to appreciate what a phenomenon we are. We are an export. Any country in the world knows about the Premier League and we want to keep it that way.

"We have said we will put something together in February that will be a little bit more concrete. Until then, nothing will be ruled out or in."