Saints likely to snub new league

ST JOHNSTONE look like they will snub the new-look Reserve League.

Chairman Steve Brown has expressed concern over the set-up, which will replace the much maligned U/20 Development League.

However, it’s believed the end product has been diluted from the original proposal.

Now Saints are investigating whether it has any financial or football value.

They have until the end of July to say whether they are joining or not.

Presently, the l eague consists of 18 teams who will play each other once.

The SPFL have also deregulated, meaning clubs will be allowed to play at their training grounds as well as SPFL stadia.

It’s also t hought t he original proposal of having a minimum number of senior pros required to school development kids has also been scrapped.

Games will kick off on Mondays at 2pm, t hus persuading first-team bosses to allow players to take part and still recover for the following Saturday.

Brown is concerned the new set-up could hinder top-team performances.

Saints missed out on a top-six finish by t hree points and he commented: “Spending money there would mean pulling it back from the first team.

“It’s also important to see whether the whole concept is right in a football sense.

“We’ll continue to use the loan structure set-up as the best development path. Jason Kerr played around 100 matches for East Fife and QOS, which was great.”

St Johnstone chairman Steve Brown.