That Some Members Of This Team Are Dead Tired.
There are a handful of our footballers who have played more games than any other players in Europe, and those guys are now feeling the effects of three consecutive seasons of it.
It is unbelievable how hard the likes of Kieran, Callum, Scott and James have worked over the course. When you consider the number of European qualifiers, group games, knockout round matches – and this is just in continental competition – it’s the equivalent of half any other side’s whole season.
Then there’s our unremitting success in the domestic cup competitions … for other sides, they get free midweeks and weekends because they are out. We just keep on winning and so the games just pile up. The SPFL’s idiotic decision to slam the League Cup Final into a slot before December continues to disadvantage us because it deprives us of free time in which to prepare for European ties. There is no sign of this ridiculous scenario changing either.
The result is that a significant section of our side is running on empty and has been for weeks. Kieran has broken down, finally, after the most unbelievable schedule in the whole of world football; virtually no player on the planet has been in so many matches.
Added to this was an injury crisis which kept many of these guys – Scott Brown, Callum and James – in the team when their might have been options to rest them. The next manager needs a stronger first team squad to work with, and cover in each position. Whilst not a big fan of rotation systems, there are players in our side who simply can’t be asked to continue like this. They will be dropping like flies eventually, and probably at the worst possible time.