Squad too small bemoans Rogers

SKELMERSDALE manager Alan Rogers had a depleted squad for Bank Holiday and it showed as Marine took advantage of tired legs.

Skem’s manager admitted they have looked thin in recent games and he hopes to have more available this weekend.

“The lack of depth in the squad on Monday cost us. We only had one substitute on Saturday and that cost us too really,” said Rogers.

“The players were tired and they didn’t have the legs to go the full 90 minutes. They needed a bit of a rest.

“Gilly [Steven Gillespie] was playing with a slight hamstring strain. Josh Dobie has not played for six months and he had to play back-to-back games so he was understandably struggling a lot.

“We just have no squad depth. We have had several players unavailable so we have had to select a lot of youngsters.

“We’ll have a few more available this weekend. We had four players at a competition in Dallas and they will only be back on Thursday so we’ll have to see how they are too.”

With their relegation from the Evo-Stik Northern Premier already confirmed, Skelmersdale have just one game left to play in the league.

They take on Stafford Rangers this Saturday but Rogers admitted he won’t be able to experiment too much as the squad will remain depleted.

He revealed the club are already looking to bring in players for next season though and transfer activity will be rife throughout the summer.

“It’s going to be a test again on Saturday. Most teams are physical sides. There are only a few footballing sides in this league – but we have to be ready for that,” said Rogers.

“It will be another test for the lads but it’s an opportunity to play for their places in the side next season.

“We can’t experiment as we haven’t got a big enough squad. We have nobody else who can play really”.