Aston Villa have confirmed they have applied to enter the Intertoto Cup for a second successive season.
The move has the backing of new manager Graham Taylor.
Previous Villa manager John Gregory had expressed reservations at taking part in the competition after Villa had started playing in the tournament in mid-July and needed six matches to book their place in the UEFA Cup.
But Taylor is fully behind such a move if his team fail to secure an automatic route back into Europe via a high placing in the league.
Taylor said: "This is the right thing to do. Of course the aim has to be automatic entry into Europe and we'll be going all out for that in the next 12 games.
"But we want to look at every avenue. European football is what we want and if we get there through the Intertoto Cup then it's something we should try and do.
Meanwhile Taylor has denied reports that striker Dion Dublin is to join Second Division Cardiff on loan.