Peter Kenyon defended the dominance of the Barclays Premier League's so-called Big Four last night and insisted that Chelsea will resist any attempts to force them to “dumb down” to the level of their rivals.

In expressing Chelsea's determination to stay ahead of the chasing pack, Kenyon challenged clubs such as Tottenham Hotspur, Newcastle United, Aston Villa and Everton to get their houses in order, as well as outlining the West London club's opposition to plans to limit the number of foreign players in England.

Fifa is committed to introducing the “six plus five” principle, in which clubs would be limited to fielding five foreign players in their starting line-up, by 2012-13, but world football's governing body has a fight on its hands. The European Commission has dismissed the plan as discriminatory and illegal and leading clubs are strongly opposed to proposals that would have damaging implications for their squads.

Andy Burnham, the secretary of state for culture, media and sport, told The Times last week that he is willing to challenge the commission's ruling in Brussels if he could garner sufficient support, but he is unlikely to win the backing of the Premier League.

“We don't want it to change because we're one of the four,” Kenyon said. “But, seriously, if you look across Europe, other major leagues are dominated by one, two or three teams, so it's too easy to say this is a Premier League issue.

“Other teams in England should be knocking on our door - teams like Tottenham, Newcastle, Aston Villa, Everton. It's more about them getting their houses in order, rather us coming down to their level.

“We don't support 'six plus five' and I don't think there is any appetite for it across Europe. It will not solve the problem. We shouldn't dumb down and use artificial ways to get an even platform.”

Kenyon's comments are unlikely to be well received by the clubs he has challenged to raise their game, while his revelation that Roman Abramovich, the Chelsea owner, wants the club to be a force for good will also raise eyebrows. Chelsea take their charity work seriously, with their initial “Corporate and Social Responsibility” report published last year revealing that they invested £4.34million in such causes during the 2005-06 season.

“It's important that we align with what the owner wants,” Kenyon said. “When he bought Chelsea he wanted it to be not just a successful football club, but for it to be a force for good. He recognises how powerful sport can be in changing the social aspects of life and the influences it has on youth. That, philosophically, is very much Roman Abramovich.”

Kenyon went on to outline Chelsea's support for the 39th game, which is scheduled to be discussed again at the Premier League's next shareholders meeting in September, as well as reminding Luiz Felipe Scolari, the Chelsea manager, of Abramovich's wish to see attacking football.

“The most attractive football across Europe last season was played by a couple of teams,” Kenyon said. “We want to be a team that wins things in style and that's about the club growing up. If you look at a Madrid, a Milan, a Barcelona, you look at a Manchester United, they've been successful, but they're all teams with an identity and known for their style.”

“There's a real appetite around the world for the Premier League. The extra game was always only in an evaluation stage and that's what everybody signed up to do, not to go ahead and do it. But just because it's a bit revolutionary, I don't think we should say it's necessarily a bad idea.”