Jon Cook has vowed to be a bit selfish when he goes into committee-room battle for Eastbourne Eagles.

Cook and his fellow skybet Elite League promoters are heading to Tenerife for their three-day annual meeting.

The Eagles chief has promised to fiercely oppose any move which would force him to break up his 2005 team.

And he will propose a switch to 16-heat matches, offering clubs with strength in depth, such as his Eagles, a further chance to let their second tier riders impress.

The league is set to expand to 11 clubs with the introduction of Reading and that could lead to clubs having to field teams of riders with a combined average lower than the 42.5 permitted in 2005.

In turn, that would mean Cook having to alter his line-up, something he has pledged not to do.

Asked if his motives in voting against the change were more to do with the good of his club than the good of the league, Cook said: "Maybe they are but my major concern is to protect Eastbourne as a business and its riders and supporters.

"Two years ago we made a lot of sacrifices when the league increased in size. I would now like to feel we can reap the benefit of that by not having to make many changes to our business this year.

"I will be a bit selfish. I'm not normally selfish and I would always support big decisions which made us weaker as a club if there was a big benefit to the league.

"But I don't think having an 11th team coming in is a big enough reason for us to dilute our team."

Cook expects to have allies in Belle Vue, Coventry, Peterborough and possibly Wolverhampton in his fight against reduced team averages but will face opposition from Ipswich and Arena-Essex.

The Eagles boss feels the league should only go up in size when there is a 12th club ready to enter and said: "An 11th team is not particularly welcome."

He believes the introduction of an extra nominated race after heat 14 would encourage teams to opt for strength in depth rather than top heavy line-ups and said: "Let's remember it's a team sport."

Eagles have yet to reveal whether Nicki Pedersen has accepted the offer to become the best-paid rider in the history of the club by extending his loan from Wolverhampton for a further two years.