Sunday 24 July 2016 12:07, UK
Dundee boss Paul Hartley would like a change in the rules of the Betfred Cup, that would allow managers to make as many as 'five or six substitutions' during the group stages of the competition.
Previously a knockout event, the early stages of the 2016-17 edition has seen the format switch to eight groups of five teams.
The four Scottish clubs competing in Europe this season - Celtic, Aberdeen, Hearts and Hibs - are exempt until the last 16 of the newly-formatted tournament.
However, with the four group matches effectively being played during what used to be pre-season, Dundee manager Hartley believes clubs should have the opportunity to use more players during these matches.
At the moment, only three substitutes can be used and Hartley wants greater flexibility in the tournament which used to be called the Scottish League Cup.
Hartley said: "I think this competition is good but it still doesn't give you game time with the majority of the squad.
"We are only allowed three substitutes. I would like to see more players used, five or six instead of three, especially in this section.
"After that then I think it is fine. But we need more subs because players need to play.
They are still finding their feet, they are not 100 per-cent sharp and we can't play everybody.
"They are still finding their feet, they are not 100 per-cent sharp and we can't play everybody.
"We want to pick the strongest team, we are not taking this cup lightly but I have got to look at the players also in terms of getting plenty of game time and lots of minutes.
"If you look at previous seasons, you would still be two and half, three weeks away from your first league game and you would still be playing friendlies.
"It is a balancing act. The boys that maybe didn't start last week will start this week and look at the game for Tuesday, keep training hard and try to keep everybody involved as much as we can."
The Scottish Premiership season starts on August 6.
