U-21s face gruelling 24-hour round trip

Aug 24 2008 By Scott Mcdermott

MISERLY SFA chiefs have refused to charter a flight for Scotland Under-21s' crunch Euro 2009 qualifier against Denmark.

After a week of controversy - when our young stars arrived in Lithuania less than 24 hours before a game and arrived back late - it has been revealed they will face a six-flight round trip to Aalborg next month.

If Billy Stark's boys beat minnows Slovenia on September 4, the clash in Denmark five days later could be a play-off decider.

But rather than the beaks forking out £40,000 to charter a plane, they will force the squad to fly via London and Copenhagen before arriving in Aalborg 12 hours later.

That decision is sure to anger Scotland fans, especially on the back of the SFA's £60million TV deal with Setanta and the prospect of making a packet from Sky if we qualify for the Euros. MailSport understands several Under-21 stars have become fed up with the lengthy journeys and lack of professionalism.

But Stark defended his bosses last night and said: "I'd have preferred to charter a flight straight from Glasgow to Kaunas last week. But it's a huge cost and significant enough not to do it for the Under-21s. That's not to say the SFA are cheapskates.

"I know there's money in and qualifying would be lucrative but it's not as simple as people think and the cost is prohibitive.

"It does affect the players because you feel weary after flights but they coped well and got a good result."