Lomas brands Under 21 rule “nonsense”

Nov 29 2011 by Greg Christison, Perthshire Advertiser Tuesday

STEVE Lomas has demanded a “drastic rethink” over Scottish football’s under-21 ruling.

Despite witnessing his side power to their second impressive result under his reign, the St Johnstone boss has been left frustrated by strict SPL laws, which he claims are having an adverse affect on the game.

The Northern Irishman was forced to omit several first team players from his squad, due to rules stating three outfield under-21 players must be included in each 18-man matchday squad.

Saints’ 3-1 home victory against Hibs saw defender Mark Durnan and striker Stevie May – both 19 – take their place on the bench alongside 18-year-old midfielder Ricky McIntosh, whilst experienced campaigners watched on from McDiarmid’s main stand.

Speaking to PA Sport, Lomas revealed he sympathises with those he has been unable to include but promised each will get their chance as the season progresses.

“I certainly couldn’t fault my players’ attitude. It was first class again,” he said.

“The boys have been excellent in every single training session since myself and Tommy (Wright) came in. Not once have we had to say ‘this isn’t good enough’. It’s been a pleasure to work with them.

“The guys I feel sorry for are the lads I’m leaving in the stand – the likes of Davie McCracken, Sean Higgins and Willie Gibson.

“I’ve said it before, but whoever made up the under-21 ruling needs to have a drastic rethink.

“It’s a nonsense and isn’t doing the young lads any good or the senior pros who are left out.

“The lads are bright enough to realise why I haven’t changed the team much so far – the boys in the side at the moment have been doing really well.

“The one thing I would say though is that there are a lot of games coming up for us and injuries and suspensions will start to kick in. So other lads will get their chance.”

Striker Marcus Haber heeded his manager’s advice and capped a solid performance with a well-taken headed goal after Lomas gave the Canadian the nod to replace injured Cillian Sheridan after just eight minutes.

Haber’s effort, a sixth league goal for Fran Sandaza and a superbly executed free-kick from vice-captain Dave Mackay helped Saints to a 3-1 win after losing a sloppy opener to Richie Towell on 26 minutes.

Sheridan was struck down with a hamstring problem before last weekend’s goalless draw at Ibrox and a concerned Lomas admitted the full extent of the injury is not yet clear.

“We’ll have to wait to find out what the problem is,” he continued.

“Cillian said he thought it was a different injury. It’s the same hamstring though, so you’d think there’s a connection.

“He felt great on Thursday and Friday but has pulled up during the match again.

“It’s something we need to get to the bottom of because it’s frustrating for the player as much as anything else.

“As I said after the game though, it gave Marcus his chance and he took it really well.

“With the runs he can make he does real damage down the sides because he’s a strong, quick boy.”

And Lomas has his fingers crossed that influential skipper Jody Morris will return for Saturday’s visit to Tynecastle where fourth-placed Saints will face Hearts, who lie one point behind.

He added: “We enjoyed the win [against Hibs] but now we get ready to go again.

“Hearts away will be a very tough match and we certainly won’t be resting on our laurels.

“Once you start to take it easy in this game, you end up getting a kick up the backside.

“Jody had a bit of flu at the weekend as well as his hamstring strain. Hopefully the rest will have done him good. We’ll have a better idea later in the week.”