St Mirren manager Jim Baxter has called the Scottish Premiership fixture list insane after his team was forced to play three matches in eight days.
What has Baxter said?
The Buddies boss, who has only been in charge at St Mirren for a few months, has bemoaned the scheduling of their recent fixtures.
They lost 2-0 at home to Aberdeen on the opening weekend of the season, before beating Dundee United 1-0 at Tannadice on Tuesday.
Three days later, they travel to face Hearts at Tynecastle, before hosting Hibernian on Monday.
What is Baxter’s criticism?
Baxter is critical of the fact that his team has had so little time to recover between matches.
He said: This fixture list is insane. It’s a joke.
We played Aberdeen on Saturday, Dundee United on Tuesday and now we’re going to Hearts on Friday.
That’s three games in the space of eight days, which is absolutely ridiculous.
The players are exhausted and they’re not getting the chance to recover properly.
What are the potential risks?
Baxter believes that the fixture congestion could lead to injuries and burnout among his players.
He said: There’s a risk that the players are going to get injured if we keep playing at this rate.
They’re not machines, they’re human beings.
They need time to recover and they’re not getting it.
What needs to change?
Baxter wants the Scottish Premiership to change the way it schedules fixtures.
He said: Something has to change.
The fixture list needs to be spread out more evenly, so that teams have more time to prepare for their matches.
It’s not fair on the players or the fans.
What does the future hold?
It remains to be seen whether the Scottish Premiership will take Baxter’s criticism on board.
However, it is clear that the fixture congestion is a problem that needs to be addressed.
Otherwise, we could see more teams struggling to keep up with the demands of the schedule.
Kind regards
C. Dixon