Stephen Robinson has become the second top flight manager to slam the Premier Sports Cup schedule - claiming the early start is unfair on Premiership clubs.
The St Mirren boss called for an SPFL rethink as he vented just days after Hibs counterpart Lee Johnson dubbed the July 9 start to the group stage as “degrading” and after both side toppled out in the first round. However Record Sport understands league chiefs currently have no plans to change the format next season. Hibs boss Johnson hit out over the weekend claiming the fast start was senseless and dangerous to players’ fitness.
Arbroath number two Iain Campbell had earlier dubbed the kick-off date “crazy” and now Robinson, who took Motherwell to the final of the competition in 2017, has added to the fury. He said: “Whatever I say at the moment people will think I’m only saying it because we didn’t qualify. But speaking to other managers it doesn’t work for the Premiership side.
“It’s set up against us because if you play your strongest side in the four group games you get 11 players fit, you don’t get your squad of 20 fit. It’s so early, it’s two weeks in and we’ve picked up numerous injuries because of it. Alex Greive, Scott Tanser, to name a few and the other clubs are the exact same because you’re going into games where usually you’d take them off after 45 or 60.
"I don’t think anyone enjoys it. It’s so early in the competition and it’s not conducive to good football or building for the season. I’d like it looked at and that’s whether we won or not.”
It’s the second season in a row that the campaign has kicked off for sides not in Europe on the second weekend of July. SPFL bosses were hamstrung this season due to the five-week break for the World Cup in November condensing the fixture list.
But Robinson insists the current format leads to “false” football. The Buddies lost to lower league Arbroath and Airdrie but finished their group with a 3-1 win over Edinburgh on Saturday and are now preparing for Sunday’s Premiership curtain raiser against Motherwell in Paisley.
Robinson said: “You speak to other managers and it’s so false, you have so much possession of the ball. That’s not an excuse, it’s just not how we’ll play. We will be a team that’s hard to break down hopefully and a team that maybe plays on the counter as well.
“We haven’t got the results we wanted in the cup and it certainly wasn’t what we set out to do. But it’s a case of trying to use this week to try to nail exactly what we want.”
In contrast, Falkirk chief executive Jamie Swinney has backed the current format which he reckons is invaluable to clubs financially. The Bairns topped Hibs’ group to secure qualification for the second round. And Swinney said: “The format is excellent. Yes it’s early but it’s so much more valuable than friendlies.
“Also it’s really important financially to the 30 clubs out with the Premiership who share 16 per cent of the gross revenue. Pressure on the Premiership teams to win the group with upsets every year equals entertainment.”
But Robinson reckons St Mirren will have lost money from the competition after bowing out so early - with only 1047 punters turning up up for Saturday’s dead rubber against Edinburgh. He said: “Obviously if you get to cup finals and semi-finals you earn money but I think the club actually loses money in the group games because the crowds aren’t very big and you have to put on staff.
“You have to put on all the things that come with hosting a game so I don’t think there’s any big financial gains to playing in the group stages and playing this early. If we got to a final it would affect the club as a whole.”
