Injuries to contracted stars has left Lancaster boss Mark Fell unable to make new signings

The Dolly Blues have been afflicted with a horrendous casualty list in the first couple of months of the season with more than a dozen players out injured.

A number of those missing are the club’s contracted players which means Fell has been thwarted from scouring the transfer market for replacements due to financial issues.

"We have seven contracted players at Lancaster and when our goalkeeper Curtis Anderson got injured at the weekend, it meant all of those seven players were injured.

"You still have to pay those players so the demand on the club means I could not go out and bring in X,Y,Z to plug the gaps because financially it’s not viable.

"So just the misfortune of that is incredible in itself, coupled with the four, five, six non-contracted players who have also been out – it’s amazing that we’ve been able to put a team out.”

Despite the poor results of recent weeks, Fell has praised the spirit of the lads who have played and believes fortunes will change, especially when he gets more positive news from the treatment room.

"The lads who have played have been brilliant,” said Fell, who watched his team lose 6-3 at Morpeth Town on Tuesday. “There were some concerns from Tuesday in terms of conceding goals from set plays which is unlike us.

"They overpowered us and we certainly need some more height back in our team because we are a very small team at the moment.”

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