Houston calls for more talks on football in summer

Dundee United manager Peter Houston has called for a wider debate over the possibility of summer football as wild weather disrupted preparations for tomorrow’s Clydesdale Bank Premier League fixture at Inverness.

Hurricane-force winds and heavy rain battered Scotland yesterday, with gusts of up to 130mph recorded, causing widespread problems. Houston raised the idea of summer football after wind ruined an SPL match at Motherwell two weeks’ ago and yesterday suggested the idea needs to be discussed.

He said: “It’s always difficult when you can’t train properly during the week. On Tuesday it was frost, today it’s heavy rain which is keeping us off the grass and we had to train indoors. It can be challenging. It makes you wonder about whether we need to start thinking, ‘Would it be better to look at summer football?

“I think putting it up for debate wouldn’t do any harm. I don’t think there would be any harm in thinking about it. I’m saying all the pros for it, I’m sure there will be cons, I’d like to hear them.”

One con surrounds Scotland’s potential qualification for a major tournament. However, that last happened in 1998 and other national teams have advanced to World Cup and European Championship finals despite their domestic leagues taking place during the summer.

Houston, the Scotland assistant manager, added: “Other countries play during the summer and how do they get on with it? It’s maybe something we could look into and research.”

The Scottish Football Association’s women’s and youth leagues already take place in the summer months and the progress of those competitions is being monitored.

Of more immediate concern to Houston is the scheduled trip to Inverness, where the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium is exposed to the elements. Houston, whose only injury worries remain Danny Swanson (knee) and Scott Severin (broken leg), anticipates a tight tussle against Terry Butcher’s men, as experienced at Tannadice in September when United won 3-1.

Houston added: “It will be a very difficult game. I don’t think any team who goes up to the Highlands enjoys it because they have a right go at you. It could be an enthralling game.”

Butcher, meanwhile, is enthused by the prospect of finally being able to build on a feelgood factor at the club following their win at St Mirren Park. The 2-1 triumph ended Caley Thistle’s long stint at the bottom of the Clydesdale Bank Premier League and lifted them up to ninth place.

“Last Saturday has lifted everybody. It really does make a massive difference,” said Butcher. “Emotions are high, there’s a spring in the step. That’s the importance of a victory.”