Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Bristol Post
Bristol Post
Sport
David Byrom

The EFL rule that Bristol Rovers need to be aware of against Barnsley on Saturday

Bristol Rovers host Barnsley on Saturday with the pressure off.

The Gas secured their League One safety with a goalless draw at Fleetwood Town on Saturday, meaning they have nothing to fear when playing the The Tykes this weekend.

It was a while coming for Rovers after a disappointing Easter weekend left them looking over their shoulders and manager Graham Coughlan revealed that he had hoped to play some youngsters against Fleetwood had they been safe.

Alfie Kilgour of Bristol Rovers is marked by Ruben Lameiras of Plymouth Argyle (Ryan Hiscott/JMP)

He said: "I love the academy side of things as well, we've had two debutants this year with Deon Moore and Alfie Kilgour, and I would have loved to have come up here and given kids like Luca Hoole and Lucas Tomlinson some game time because they've been thriving in the academy and with the under-23s."

It could point to the fact that some young players will be taking part against Barnsley this weekend - which would be good news for the Tykes.

Barnsley had their promotion back to the Championship confirmed last night after Portsmouth and Sunderland dropped points, but they are still fighting for the league title with Luton Town, so would probably welcome the news that Coughlan could shuffle his pack.

Yet the Gas will have to be aware of a recently-introduced EFL rule should they opt to make changes.

In 2017, Huddersfield Town made 10 changes to their starting XI for a game against Birmingham City late in the season, with the Blues going on to win 2-0 and get three points that gave their fight against relegation a huge shot in the arm.

'He turned the Southend defence inside and out' - Bristol Rovers young guns give Graham Coughlan options for next season  

It angered Birmingham's relegation rivals that they were able to take advantage of a weakened Huddersfield side and, as a direct result, a vote was taken by EFL clubs to limit the amount of changes that can be made to starting XIs.

The new rule says: "For any league match played on or after the fourth Thursday in March, any team sheet for a league game should include at least 10 outfield players who featured on the team sheet for the league match before."

It added: "In the event any club breaches the threshold, they may be charged with a breach of Regulation 24 and the matter will be referred to a disciplinary commission."

That means that at least 10 of the Rovers squad who were involved against Fleetwood need to be on the team sheet for this Saturday's game.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.