Warnock: Subs rule will favour big clubs
MIDDLESBROUGH boss Neil Warnock has taken another dig at the size of Nottingham Forest’s squad, claiming they are the ones who will benefit from the new substitutes’ rule.
From this weekend, Football League clubs will revert to being able to use up to five substitutes from a nine-man bench - as was the case following the restart last season.
Warnock is not a fan of the change, saying it favours the Reds because they have more players on their books.
“You talk about your nine subs but we didn’t vote for that, because we only had six on the bench last week,” the Boro manager told TALKSPORT.
“It’s only (beneficial) for your big clubs like Norwich or Forest who have got 30-odd players.
“It’s only going to help them, it’s not going to help clubs like ourselves.
“I’m only going to put three on anyhow and sometimes I only put three on.
“We’ve got nine games coming up in 26 days or so and it’s going to be a big test.
“We’ve got to be very lucky over the next few months that we don’t get two or three injuries.”
Warnock took aim at the size of Chris Hughton’s squad before the two teams met at the Riverside Stadium last month – a match which ended in a 1-0 defeat for the visitors.
Before that game, he had said of Forest: “When you look at the numbers they’ve got, I envy them.
“They’ve got two teams and we can barely name all substitutes.
“I think Chris will be thinning it (the squad) down in January.
“I think they’ve got 30 pros. I’ve only got 20 and two are injured long term.”