KILMARNOCK manager Alex Dyer believes it “makes no sense” to retain the Betfred Cup in its current format, especially if there is a chance part-time clubs won’t be tested before matches.
Dyer’s preference had been for the tournament to return to a straight knock-out or have lower league outfits playing each other first to reduce the spread of coronavirus.
The Rugby Park side are set to take on Clyde, Dumbarton, Falkirk and Dunfermline when the group stage begins in just a few weeks. And Dyer reckons it’s “crazy” to potentially have his players lining up against teams that haven’t been tested or who have been working in day jobs during the week.
He said: “If these teams aren’t tested and are playing against teams who have been tested that doesn’t make sense. So they will have to be tested before these games.
“And, if not, it will be down to the authorities to decide what happens next. We get tested and it costs a lot of money. If the other clubs are being put into this competition then they need to get tested, too. It’s as simple as that.
“It’s a worry that part-time players might be tested at the start of the week and then are working in their day jobs before we play them at the weekend.
“Whoever did the Betfred Cup draw and organised it in that way – personally, I think it’s crazy. You’ve still got a group situation and four games to play in it.
“They could have just gone straight into a knock-out competition. Or they could have the lower league teams playing against themselves and then playing the Premiership sides later on.
“There were always other options and different ways they could have done it. The current situation doesn’t make sense to me. But the powers-that-be obviously know more than me. So we just have to get on with it.”
Kilmarnock face a Hamilton Accies side tomorrow who have lost four players to the virus, but Dyer feels the SPFL set a precedent last weekend by making St Mirren play without three of their regular goalkeepers.
He added: “If there are enough players then I think we keep playing. It’s maybe different if someone is really struggling for numbers. You should maybe take it into consideration if they’re so low that their squad is thin. That’s different. But they’ve opened the door now after what happened to St Mirren. Most of us just have to get on with it now.
“We never got any definitive guidelines on how many players need to be missing for a postponement or anything like that. But they’ve set a precedent after what happened last week with St Mirren. We all know what it is. As long as they stick with it, we’ll all know where we stand.”
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