Does the League Cup group stage come too early in the season for teams like St Johnstone?
Simo Valakari’s side were one of two Premiership sides, Falkirk were the other, that failed to progress to the last 16 of the League Cup.
St Johnstone finished third in Group F with seven points after their 1-1 draw with East Fife, which Dick Campbell’s side snagged a bonus point in after winning the shootout.
Former Dundee and Ross County boss, who was St Johnstone assistant manager between 2007-2011, insists there is “no need to hit the panic button”.
“I was at the game and I’ve got to say it’s a game they should never have lost,” Docherty told the BBC’s Scottish Football Podcast.
“They absolutely controlled and dominated the game, but typical Dick Campbell teams they they hung in and they defended extremely well,
“The crowd weren’t very pleased with the the performance, I would say, both at half-time and at full-time and and you can see that eats on to the players a little bit.
“It is a an upset there’s no doubt about it but some of these teams are not ready at the moment. A lot of teams like St Johnstone, Falkirk, Dundee are very dependent on that loan market and these players don’t come in until the end of the window because that’s when their their parent clubs decide it’s time for them to move on.
“So that’s the argument that maybe the League Cup stages come a wee bit too early.
“It’s wise words from Simo. There’s no there’s no need to hit the panic button at the moment but they’ll certainly be disappointed.”
