This is a particularly simplified take on the reality. Football clubs have season ticket holders, sponsors and other stakeholders. Chucking your arms up in the air and saying 'I don't think we can win the Premiership so we should just not play' is hardly going to go down well. That's before you talk about prize money for finishing as high up as possible.
It's been done to death but, barring someone with bottomless pockets backing a diddy team, European money and not splitting gate money has finished the chances a team outwith the arsecheecks winning the Premiership.
Saying you are aiming for it is pointless imo.