HELLENIC LEAGUE: Dyton unhappy with players' attitudes (From This Is Wiltshire)

HELLENIC LEAGUE: Dyton unhappy with players' attitudes

8:00am Friday 19th March 2010 in

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ALAN Dyton has questioned the attitude of a number of his Shrivenham players, believing their lack of commitment is preventing the club from moving forward.

Shrivvy find themselves looking nervously over their shoulder at the wrong end of the Hellenic League Premier Division, following a dismal run of just one win in 12 league games.

Six away games on the trot have coincided with numerous drop-outs, leaving left Dyton and co-manager Mark Love a threadbare squad to select from.

And although they are still missing John Aitkenhead, James Blake and Mark Peters for tomorrow’s clash with Almondsbury United, SEVEN players return for the home game - Michael Silvanus, Alex Green, Richie Saunders, Chris Flanagan, Steve Bunting, Jon Peters and Taylor Gill.

“We’ve played six away games in a row, and five of them have been the long trips to places like Hereford and Reading,” Dyton told the Advertiser.

“The players who have made themselves unavailable for those games have put a real strain on the club, and I question the integrity of them.

“I know people have work commitments and things like that but they know the fixtures a month in advance and surely must be able to come to some sort of arrangement.

“Maybe the mentality is wrong, but we’ve had nine or 10 first team squad members unavailable recently, and what hope do you have of progressing when that is the situation?

“There are players who are trying to save the club week in, week out, and get us into a decent position, but it must be hard for them to have to watch other players pick and choose when they want to play.

“We are now at the stage of the season where we cannot really bring new players in, so will have to go with what we’ve got, but it is important to look at attitude as much as ability.

“You can always work with a committed player, but those without commitment make life very difficult.”

Malmesbury Victoria are hoping to have boosted their chances of Premier Division survival with the return of striker Craig Alexander.

The big front man has been out of the game recently due to work commitments but has been enticed back to the Flying Monk Ground to solve the Vics’ goalscoring worries.

Alexander should make his comeback tomorrow away at fellow strugglers Hook Norton in what is a must-win game, and co-manager Martin Woodhouse said: “It is great to have him back.

“We’ve been trying to strengthen our squad and Craig fits the bill because we’ve been creating plenty of chances but not taking them.

“Hopefully he will change that because he’s a target man who knows where the back of the net is.

“Saturday is an important game for us. We slipped up last weekend when we should have put the game out of sight, and we can’t do that again.”

Elsewhere, Highworth entertain lowly Carterton at the Elms, while Fairford will look to build on an impressive 6-2 win on Tuesday night as they travel to mid-table Kidlington.