Scunthorpe team takes shine off Rovers magic

THIS column has long advocated managers fielding whatever team they choose. If the players have qualified for the Champions League with games to spare, give the first team a rest. If Saturday is a cup final, Wednesday’s XI may be weaker. Success brings the odd dilemma. What happened at Bristol Rovers on Saturday was a little different. Scunthorpe arrived, having been relegated on Good Friday, April 15, and fielded a team in which six players had made fewer than five appearances. The goalkeeper, 17-year-old Owen Foster, was playing his second game. Rovers won 7-0. It turned out to be the magic number they needed to gain promotion over Northampton, on goal difference. Good for them. Northampton chairman

Kelvin Thomas, however, is understandably aggrieved and has consulted the EFL. Not to get a rerun, more to register his displeasure with a view to future campaigns. He has a point. Taking nothing from Bristol Rovers — putting seven past any group of professional opponents is an achievement, and Scunthorpe’s young players no doubt gave their best — there is a difference between a weakened team resulting from achievement, or fixture congestion, and one born of failure. The best that can be said is perhaps Scunthorpe were planning for their future in the National League, if the more experienced players leave. The counter-argument is that, not being good enough to play in League Two, they at least owed it a proper contest on the final day of the season.