Boyce call-up has robbed us of our top player – Clough

BRISTOL Rovers will be boosted by Liam Boyce’s absence in their key League One fixture at Burton Albion tomorrow – but opposition manager Nigel Clough has bemoaned his star striker’s international call-up.

Boyce, who has five goals and two assists so far this season, has been included in Michael O’Neill’s Northern Ireland squad for games against Austria and Bosnia & Herzegovina in the UEFA Nations League.

Both clubs are wallowing at the bottom end of the table – the Gas are in 21st place and Burton sit 18th, both having gained just one win in five games – but Boyce’s call-up will undoubtedly boost Rovers’ hopes of collecting a much-needed three points.

It is the second time this season Boyce has been away on international duty, with the striker missing Burton’s 1-1 draw at Accrington Stanley last month.

Clough went as far as saying that he believes it’s ‘harsh’ that tomorrow’s game cannot be cancelled.

EFL rules state that if a club have three players called up into their respective nations’ senior or under-21s side, they can apply to postpone and rearrange a fixture that falls during the period they are away.

“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,” said Clough.

“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.”

He added: “There’s this threeplayer rule. It should be one player, it shouldn’t have to be three, because one player can make the difference for you.

“When you’ve got your record signing, top goalscorer and arguably our best player missing, I do think that lessens your chances of winning games and benefits the opposition.

“I think if you have one senior player (away), it should be enough, because that can affect the performance and affect the result.”

Boyce played only 20 minutes in Northern Ireland’s two September fixtures, coming off the bench to set up Will Grigg for a late consolation goal in the Nations League defeat to Bosnia & Herzegovina.

“I hope for him he does get some game time, just as long as he doesn’t come back injured,” added Clough.