Nigel: One call-up is enough to merit a new fixture date
NIGEL Clough believes teams should be able to rearrange League fixtures if any of their senior players are called up for international duty.
The Brewers will be without top scorer Liam Boyce for tomorrow’s home League One clash with Bristol Rovers, as he is part of the Northern Ireland squad facing Austria and Bosnia & Herzegovina in the upcoming UEFA Nations League games.
It is the second time this season he has been part of Michael O’Neill’s side. Boyce also missed the 1-1 draw at Accrington Stanley last month while with his national side.
Current EFL rules state that if a club has three players called into their respective nation’s senior or under-21s side, they can apply to postpone and rearrange a fixture that falls during the period they are away.
But Clough believes there is a great impact on a team from losing even one player, as they are doing with Boyce.
“They (international breaks) are welcome at certain times, especially when everything is mad at the start of the season - you play so many games in a short space of time,” he said ahead of tomorrow’s meeting with the Pirates.
“To get that break, you know how much you benefit from it from our time in the Championship.
“But we haven’t got it, so we just keep going on and try to get as many fit as we can.
“I think it’s very harsh when you lose your best player, like Liam Boyce, and you still can’t cancel the game. Burton Albion’s Liam Boyce will miss tomorrow’s game against Bristol Rovers because he is on international duty with Northern Ireland.