Chris Beech believes the rule change which will allow managers to make five substitutes is a “game-changer” – and said he voted against it.

The Carlisle United boss believes the new ruling, which comes into effect this weekend, could benefit those with the greatest resources.

But head coach Beech said he would strive to be adaptable and would also be speaking to his players about the implications of the change, which was announced by the EFL on Wednesday night.

Carlisle will still be able to name seven substitutes in their matchday squad but can now use five in a league game instead of the usual three.

“I got asked the question from the club’s perspective and I voted against it,” Beech said.

“In terms of where it is, I’m adaptable.

“I think it favours lower-league clubs with bigger budgets; if you’ve got outstanding players but you’ve got 25 of them, and you’re paying quite a lot of money for them, you’ve now got five more available.

“I think it’s a real game-changer in tactics and match prep; if you’re going against an opponent and not doing very well, you can make five changes at half-time and you’re playing 50 per cent of a new team.

“I also think, which has been quite apparent with a couple of teams who’ve come here…I call them ‘dark arts’ but it’s very difficult to create a tempo in a match at the moment with the matchball, because the referee’s demanding try your best to use the matchball even though the other balls are on cones at the side of the pitch.

“It’s going to be so hard to finish a game when another team’s using the five substitutes as time-wasting factors. It doesn’t half interrupt a game anyway with a couple. If you’re in a situation where there could be five made…it will be like the last two rounds of a boxing match petering out.

“If you’re under pressure you can sort of say, ‘time out, let’s have a little towel-down here’. It will create, I would imagine, this discrepancy in the latter part of a game.

“That said, the positives are that it gives you chance, if you’re not quite right yourself, to change. I would imagine it will help players not being sent off as much. If you have boys on yellows, you have the opportunity to effect a tactical substitution but also protect an individual to make sure they don’t get sent off.”

Beech said he found it “surreal” that the rule had been changed mid-season and if it was designed to protect against injuries, it should have been done at the start of the season.

The Blues boss added: “What about if there’s two or three minutes left, you’re getting a lot of set plays and you’ve two or three players on your bench who might not be a left wing or centre midfield player but they’re 6ft 3in and can head the ball in the back of the net?

“You can almost do ‘powerplay’ set plays.

“It’s a real game changer and that’s why I didn’t really vote for the change. It also poses different financial situations on lower-league clubs, in terms of appearance and win bonus money…it might be small detail but it all adds up.

“From a player’s perspective, if you’re sat on the bench, you’ve got every chance of getting on. Every time the management make the three substitutions, it’s been socks off, shinpads out for the last 15 minutes, but it’s different now.

“I’m going to have a meeting with the players about the rule. When I started there was only two substitutes and if you weren’t starting a game you were highly disappointed.

“Players have to look at it a bit differently now in terms of being available. You might not start a game but you might still play more minutes.”