Ross County boss Malky Mackay believes the lengthy spells of added time in games needs to be looked at with regards the physical toll on players.
With VAR checks and a desire to cut down on time wasting, matches are regularly overrunning at the end of each 45-minute period.
Mackay, whose side take on cinch Premiership bottom side St Johnstone on Saturday at McDiarmid Park, said: “It is physical pressure more than anything. I think it’s a by-product of VAR and something that I don’t think has been thought through.
“You look at the amount of games we’ve got, the schedules we’ve got, especially at the top end and European end and international footballers involved in that as well, the amount of games they are playing.
“I genuinely don’t think that whether it’s IFAB (International Football Association Board) or whether it is more localised and it is Scotland we’re talking about, I’m not sure that we actually thought the whole process through to the end where we are talking about a lot of minutes they’ve been added to games and the impact that’s having physically on players who are already probably playing at a faster pace than they ever have with the way that modern sports science has gone.
“Players have to be fit and strong to be playing at the top end, with the robust and frenetic nature of our league and now you are adding upwards of 10 minutes on.
“I remember we were 12 minutes at the end of the season in the second half at Motherwell which is quite phenomenal considering it’s 45 minutes.
“Seven on Saturday in the second half (against Celtic), so it something that’s going to have to be addressed.”
St Johnstone last weekend brought in former Scotland manager Craig Levein as replacement for Steven MacLean who departed the Perth club after nine league games without a win from the start of the season left them bottom.
After interim boss Alec Cleland guided Saints to a 2-1 win over Kilmarnock with returning striker Nicky Clark scoring a double, Levein began his tenure on Tuesday night with a 2-2 home draw to Motherwell where again Clark was on the scoresheet.
Mackay expressed sympathy for MacLean and noted the importance of timing in football.
He said: “I feel really disappointed for Steven MacLean actually. He is a good young Scottish coach and he’s on his pro-licence at the moment and I know from the guys at the Scottish FA that that he’s doing well.
“We need to keep producing good young Scottish coaches and they need time, which I don’t really think he has been given.
“And, again, you’ve just seen right away that a centre-forward comes back into the team that’s clearly a goalscorer and started scoring just the week after he leaves so timing is important as well.”
