Tottenham boss Antonio Conte has likened Thursday’s meeting between the Premier League and managers to talking to a wall.
Top-flight bosses met with league officials to discuss issues around the Covid-19 pandemic after clubs decided against altering the schedule at their own meeting earlier this week.
The decision came despite nine of the last 20 top-flight matches being postponed due to Covid outbreaks, leaving some managers concerned for the welfare of their players.
Conte, whose side did not play for three weeks following three straight postponements, is among those to have called for changes to the schedule, saying Tottenham’s Carabao Cup semi-final against Chelsea next month should be reduced to one leg.
League officials held talks with managers and captains in two meetings on Thursday, but Conte claimed the big decisions had already been taken.
“I have to be honest, I think that it was a meeting that... yeah we tried to speak,” he told reporters ahead of facing Crystal Palace on Boxing Day.
“Some coaches tried to speak to ask about solutions but I think everything was decided and yesterday was a wall.
“For this reason also, I prefer not to go into the discussion or conversation.”
The topic of five substitutions has been raised by the likes of Manchester United interim Ralf Rangnick in recent days, and Conte suggested that any suggestions from managers fell on deaf ears.
When asked if the meeting was a waste of time, he added: “I think so.
“Because as I said before, when you have a wall in front of you, you can speak or ask what you want. But every decision was [already] taken.”
Conte said he had no new injuries or cases of Covid-19 ahead of Palace’s visit to North London, with Cristian Romero (hamstring) and Ryan Sessegnon (muscle) still sidelined.
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