Inter-Toto opportunity ruled out

Stuart Pearce appeared to rule out the possibility of sneaking into European competition via the Inter-toto route, saying:

"We just felt as though it (Intertoto Cup) was not
beneficial for us to do that, we wanted to qualify by right, but we haven't and
have decided not to do that."

A recent poster on this site suggested that it would be a good thing to enter with the final being at our own stadium next season, and with the possibility of summer investment, we may even stand a chance of progressing in the tournament.

Thinking back, I have written about this in the past before here and here and was against participation in the tournament. I think on the whole I still am, but part of me does now think 'what the hell' and why not enter it. The concern has always been the impact on the league campaign due to the extra number of games, but judging by this seasons standards would it have made any difference?