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Coppell believes a quota of English players in each team's matchday squad will encourage clubs to develop homegrown talent and protect the league's identity.

"I still maintain that we play in the 'English' Premier League, it's nothing to do with any kind of racism," he said.

"We are in the English Premier League yet all the majority of the teams at the top end of the Premier League have very few English players.

"We have to protect our own development. I think it's a necessity that over the course of the next couple of years, even if it starts with one English player per 16, we protect our identity by having a limited number of English players within our own environment.

"There are certain clubs that would go against that but as someone who wants the English national team to do well it's something that's got to happen."

Coppell's side were beaten 3-1 on Monday by an Arsenal side featuring just one Englishman in their squad - Theo Walcott - who saw seven minutes of action with the result already beyond doubt.

The Gunners manager Arsene Wenger has developed young foreign players better than any manager in the history of English football, and has opposed the introduction of quotas.

Wenger believes that they would artificially lower the standard of the game and do nothing to encourage English youngsters to improve.

"It would kill the Premier League at the moment for being the best league in the world, certainly," he said last month.

"Why? Because you can see a massive reduction in the quality. If you have the choice between 200 million players or 50 million players, it is less good. It is as simple as that."

FIFA president Sepp Blatter has spoken out in favour of quotas while UEFA plan to extend their system requiring teams to field a number of locally-trained players in European competitions.

However, Coppell acknowledged it would be difficult for the Premier League and FA to come together and enforce them domestically.

"If you were starting English football again tomorrow, there is no way you would envisage the set-up we have at the moment where the Football Association has the grass-roots, the national team and the Premier League have the cash cow," he said.

"Brian Barwick [FA chief executive], who I've known for many years, is in charge of the FA and he can't impose his will on the Premier League.

"There has to be a joint directive to go forward where there is a balance. We have the best league in the world - I'm convinced of that.

"And can we now use that to our advantage and produce the best national team in the world? It's a very difficult thing with so many interests at stake."

Alex Chick / Eurosport