Top-flight clubs toblameforlack offinalfreedom

JACK ROSS does have a fair point about scheduling around the Premier Sports Cup Final.

Of course it would be better if there could be a free midweek for the participants before it to try to make sure players are as fit and fresh as possible to put on a show.

But the reality is it’s just not possible. And this is a situation of the clubs’ own making.

In choosing a 12-team league, they have asked to have so many fixtures.

By cutting them down with the split, they also cut down the windows of opportunity for rescheduling in the spring because you really need all of each team’s first 33 games to be played beforehand, even if we’ve had some exceptions in the past.

Clubs pushed for a winter break. And to be fair, the players need one. Especially the international guys who’d never get a breath otherwise. So there goes another three weeks.

You’d have to imagine if there was a possibility to do it to help both teams the governing bodies would.

But Celtic cannot be punished for making it past Christmas in Europe. Yes there would be more dates available to Hibs in the new year because they don’t have any matches on the continent but that’s hardly the fault of the Hoops.

And you can’t give one team the week off before the final and not the other.

Looking at squad sizes and depth, Celtic are probably better equipped to handle the rigorous schedule leading up to the showpiece.

But that doesn’t mean it is any easier for them.

When Ange Postecoglou says that in an ideal world a seven-day break before Hampden would be good, you have to listen. However, as the Aussie also fully accepts, the slots just aren’t there.

Tickets are another thorny issue. To be honest, you can see both sides of that argument.

If you are Hibs, you are right to suggest that it’s a national cup final and it should be a 50-50 split.

If you are Celtic whose supporters virtually filled Hampden for their last-four clash against St Johnstone, then you would say it’s perfectly fair that those guys get another crack at a ticket.

It would be pretty galling to be one of the Celtic fans who shelled out to go to the semi-final and then be sat at home for the final when a Hibs fan who didn’t bother going to the National Stadium for their team’s last-four clash against Rangers is sat in the same seat.

It’s a no-win for the authorities. Someone is going to be raging and

Of course it would be better if the clubs could have a free midweek

you need to have some sympathy with them in that regard.

It’s the same with the scheduling. If bad weather strikes and games are postponed in December or February, what on earth would happen with the rest of the season?

It’s tight enough without trying to find new dates for any of them and, with our climate, it could well happen.

Would it be better if there was an easier schedule around the final? Yes, of course. Jack Ross is right.

But, in the set-up which has been created by the self-same clubs, it’s just not really doable without the potential for causing chaos at another time down the line.

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