Queen’s Park manager Gus MacPherson has hit out at the SPFL for the way that fixtures are decided in the Betfred Cup, and for ignoring the concerns of part-time clubs.

MacPherson was angered that his squad had to travel to Berwick on a weeknight, with many members of his squad having to take time off work.

The Spiders didn’t arrive at Shielfield Park until 45 minutes prior to kick-off on Tuesday evening, but still ran out 3-2 winners over John Coughlin’s side.

Despite overcoming those odds, MacPherson believes that common sense should have seen one of the full-time clubs in the section make the trip, and he accused the SPFL of drawing up the schedules to help the Premiership teams progress in the tournament.

“The problem I have is a part-time having to travel away down to Berwick on a Tuesday night while you’ve got two full-time teams in the section,” MacPherson said.

“There has to be some sort of common sense put into it when the groups are put together. It can’t be loaded towards the Premiership teams, as it stands right now. It is completely loaded towards helping the Premiership teams as much as they possibly can.

“It’s got to be common sense that Queen’s Park, or any part-time club, shouldn’t be travelling to Berwick on a Tuesday night while there are two full-time clubs in the section. It’s ridiculous.

“Somebody needs to explain how they come to decide the fixtures, it’s not just by chance that these things happen. The groups are seeded, but they shouldn’t be for the fixtures too.

“It’s just logical, but it has to be explained. You request fixtures to be away from home and it doesn’t happen, and then you have to go away on a Tuesday night. How are these decisions being made?

“You just have to get on with it. We’re very respectful of the players at Queen’s Park, and these guys are having to give up half a shift at work just to go down and play a game of football.

“You’re having to factor in rush hour traffic going down the bypass in Edinburgh, and it’s as if nobody thinks about it or even understands.

“You cannot leave too early, because then boys can’t get away from their work, so you have to leave it as late as possible. We didn’t arrive in Berwick until seven o’clock.

“That’s what we have to do though, because if we leave any earlier then boys wouldn’t be able to make it.

“We’ve got to understand the difficulties of the part-time clubs, and the SPFL has a duty. It’s not just about the Premiership clubs, they have a duty to every single club, but that doesn’t seem to be the case when the fixtures are being made.

“We won the game, so it’s not sour grapes. It’s just common sense, which is in very, very short supply at the moment.

“With two full-time teams in our group, the part-time team is the one who has to make the longest journey on a Tuesday night. Bizarre.”

MacPherson was pleased with the way his men bounced back from an opening day drubbing at the hands of Motherwell to notch up two wins and a draw in their remaining group games.

They will now play Stirling Albion in a friendly tomorrow as they make their final preparations for their opening league fixture at Arbroath next week.

“The boys have done well in the cup and now it’s all about focusing on the league,” he said.

“It’s going to be a really tough division this year with three full-time teams, and we know that Arbroath will be a really tough opening game too.”