RAGING Fort William boss Danny Conlon is warning several of his Highland League players they could be for the chop - unless they show a much more commitment as soon as possible.
The Claggan Park manager was angry that a number of players left team-mates to face the battle at Princess Royal Park on Saturday as Deveronvale hit them for six without reply.
Sub Kris Duncan hit a dazzling hat-trick for the Vale, with the hosts' other goals coming from Mike McKenzie (penalty), Graeme Rodger and Graeme Watt.
This result leaves Fort still just one place ahead of basement side Strathspey Thistle and well behind 16th-placed Brora Rangers.
Now, ahead of this weekend's home league encounter against Wick Academy, Conlon told the Lochaber News that his patience has snapped with a number of his team who are often unavailable, especially for those tough away trips.
He explained: "We had four players on the bench at the weekend who had never really kicked a ball in the Highland League. We had eight players missing and we've got to the stage where questions have to be asked.
"How we can go from having one of our strongest squads the week before against Brora to having one of our weakest, well some players have to have a look at themselves because we can't afford to go into games against sides as impressive as Deveronvale with so many missing.
"There are a hard core of around six or seven who never miss a training session or a game. On Saturday, everyone who couldn't make it had an excuse and that's not good enough. When players have said they're not available, we've maybe sided with them too much. Now is maybe the time to stick with those who do make it to every game and training session.
"We knew how difficult it was going to be against Deveronvale. We gave away a silly penalty and found ourselves down 3-0 at half-time. After that, we never really competed."
With David Kirkwood's Wick, who crushed Fort 8-1 at Harmsworth Park in mid-September, next up, the Fort manager is seeking a big reaction from his under-fire troops.
He stressed: "Wick are possibly the best footballing side we've played this season. They were terrific against us, so we know this is a really tough test for us. They were in fantastic form before Christmas and they hit a wee dip, but their draw at Keith last weekend shows how strong a side they are, so we'll have to be at our very best."
Conlon, meanwhile, revealed that cousins Sean and Michael Ellis are set to leave the club to move to Australia for a year next month.
He added: "That will be a big blow for us because they are big players for us. We had a trialist from Inverness and one from Skye in the squad at the weekend and there's no doubt that with the Ellis' on the move, we'll have to strengthen the squad."
Fort were hit by a blow long while still on the A82 at the weekend when their bus broke down, although a replacement got them through to face Vale 15 minutes later than the scheduled 3pm kick-off.
Conlon said: "The bus had gearbox trouble close to the Clansman Hotel (on Loch Ness-side) where we stop for lunch and thankfully by the time we were ready to go another bus had been sent up from Fort William and we were on our way again. It wasn't the ideal start to the day, but we got and the game kicked off not long after 3pm."
Work commitments rule out Sean Grant and Jonathan Hewitt for Saturday game with Wick, while Graham Bamber is out with a long-term hernia problem.
* LAST Thursday night, the Fort's management team and entire first-team squad attended a refereeing summit compered by North of Scotland referee chief Bill Machray and current Highland League whistler Jim Lyon.
The idea of the summit was to give people a better understanding of the new rules and what now constitutes serious foul play. An educational evening was rounded off with a quiz to check everyone's understanding of the new regulations.
Coming top with a very impressive 17 out of 20 was Graeme Bamber, followed one point behind by Chris MacLeod and David MacDonald.
Hopefully the event has given everyone a better understanding of referees' decisions - but then again, probably not!
