Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson has slammed suggestions that promotion and relegation should be scrapped.

Richard Bevan, chief executive of the League Managers' association, told the Professional Players Federation conference that a number of clubs are keen to make the Premier League insular.

"I think that would be absolute suicide for the rest of league, and particularly for the teams in the Championship," Ferguson said.

"If you look at the Championship at the moment, we have at least eight teams with tradition and history.

"What do you say to those eight teams? That they can never play in the Premier League? You might as well lock the doors."

Bevan claimed that overseas owners want to abolish relegation because of the considerable losses of income suffered by clubs dropping out of the top flight.