FALKIRK have expressed concerns that the Scottish Premier League's decision to move next month's match against Aberdeen to a Monday night could hinder the club's hopes of reaching the top six for the first time.
The SPL announced this week that Falkirk's game at Pittodrie on Saturday, 5 April, will now take place on Monday, 7 April, with a 7.45pm kick-off, and will be shown live on Setanta Sports.
It is the last match to be played before the league spli
ts in two and, with Falkirk currently just three points ahead of both Aberdeen and Hearts, the clash could ultimately decide which team finish the season in the top half of the table.
Falkirk last night revealed that they raised concerns with the SPL about rescheduling the fixture at such short notice. The club also told The Scotsman that they fear a reduced travelling support could adversely affect the team's prospects of achieving the right result.
"We have reservations about the fixture change," said a Falkirk spokesman. "The SPL did e-mail us to ask our views on the possibility of changing the match and we informed them of our concerns before a decision was taken.
"Falkirk won't get the same number of supporters going up to the game on the Monday. A lot of people don't get away from work until after 5pm and will need probably a minimum of two-and-a-half hours to travel up to Aberdeen."
With John Hughes' team three points clear of Aberdeen and Hearts, they could all but secure their place in the top six with victory at home to Kilmarnock on Saturday. However, Aberdeen will remain in contention if they win at Inverness this weekend, while Hearts can keep up the pressure by beating Dundee United at Tynecastle.
"This could be a very crucial game for us," added the Falkirk spokesman. "We admire the fans that travel to our games, home and away. They are sometimes like an extra man for us, but this kind of support is now in jeopardy for the trip to Pittodrie."
The SPL conceded yesterday that the late date change will come as a blow to fans who have already made travel arrangements but insisted that the decision was not taken lightly. "We had consultation with the clubs but fixture decisions are not taken by the clubs," explained a spokesman. "The final decision was taken by the SPL.
"Normal practice is to allow Setanta at least four weeks' notice to pick a game but on this occasion the broadcaster was looking for some flexibility to select a match that would have a real impact on the top six and that would be of interest to viewers."
The SPL is likely to have been more sympathetic to Setanta's wishes given that the broadcaster has recently had to shelve plans to show live games at the 11th hour because of poor weather and water-logged pitches.
But Brian Guthrie, vice-chairman of supporters group Bairns Trust, says that the SPL should also have taken supporters' concerns into consideration. "This is not the way the football authorities should be treating fans," said Guthrie, who is hopeful that Falkirk can come up with a way of helping more fans make the trip north on Monday week. "I have bought early-bird train tickets which are non-refundable and that money is now gone."
The Scotsman understands that Aberdeen did not object to the fixture alteration. A club spokesman said: "We have had some fans getting in touch who are upset because they have made travel arrangements and now can't go, but we have also had fans in touch who are now able to go because the match is on a Monday night."
Aberdeen manager Jimmy Calderwood says he hopes the fixture change can allow central defender Zander Diamond more time to recover from the eye injury picked up in the Scottish Cup quarter-final win over Celtic.
The full article contains 669 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
