The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Rice wants wind meters introduced
Hamilton boss Brian Rice believes a wind meter should be used in Scottish football after he watched one weatheraffected game turn into a “complete farce” at the weekend.
The Accies manager was a spectator at Hibernian’s 4-1 William Hill Scottish Cup fifth-round win over BSC Glasgow on Sunday lunchtime as Storm Ciara swept the country.
He was far from impressed with what he witnessed at Alloa’s ground and there is set to be further inclement weather when his side host Aberdeen in the Ladbrokes Premiership tonight.
Rice said: “I can’t believe in this day and age where we have goal-line technology, VAR, all these tools to improve the game and we don’t have a wind meter.
“I have said it for 15 years. The worst conditions you can ever play in is the wind and I think it has been proven.
“There must be a wind meter, something we can use, because it just destroys the game.
“The players don’t like it, the fans won’t come out in it, the game is a lottery.
“I was at the Hibs game. A complete farce.
“Fair play to the two teams trying to make a go of it and to the fans for turning up in horrendous conditions.
“Falkirk versus Hearts on Saturday night was the same and I believe Clyde versus Celtic was the same.
“In this day and age surely we can come up with something.”
Rice will be without four injured strikers for the visit of Aberdeen – Mickel Miller, Andy Dales, Steven Davies and George Oakley – and he bemoaned the packed fixture list following the winter break, of which he is no fan.
He said: “I am now having seven games in 24 days and clubs like us struggle. We give them a couple of weeks off and then we bring them back and batter them and it is no wonder teams pick up injuries.
“I know it is really difficult for the people who do the fixtures because of cup ties, international games, Europe, I understand all that.
“But to have seven games in 24 days in January into February is ridiculous and we are asking for trouble.”