No cup games for Jeppo's reserves

Last updated : 19 July 2002 By Tony Scholes

Shorter league programme only for Ronnie Jepson's reserve team
With two less teams in the division there will be just twenty league games in 2002/03 compared with twenty-four last time around and that won’t suit Stan. Over the last few seasons he has complained on numerous occasions that there aren’t enough games and he has to keep arranging friendlies just to keep players match fit and also to aid players returning from injury.

Once again though the Clarets have turned down the chance of extra games by not entering the club competition. In the last four years since Stan took over as manager we have entered just once and when the draw was made this week for the group stages of the 2002/03 competition Burnley were once again missing.

The competition guarantees at least three extra games with clubs being split into four groups of four (five in one group) with each club in the group playing the other once. The top two then go through into the quarter-finals of a knock-out stage.

Last year’s league runners-up and cup winners Barnsley are competing again but Preston and Wolves are also out of the competition as are new boys to our division Bury and Walsall.

The clubs that are taking part are as follows,

Group One:

Barnsley, Huddersfield Town, Hull City, York City

Group Two:

Boston United, Doncaster Rovers, Scunthorpe United, Sheffield United

Group Three:

Chesterfield, Mansfield Town, Tranmere Rovers, Wrexham

Group Four:

Chester City, Macclesfield Town, Oldham Athletic, Rotherham United, Stoke City