Lancaster City boss Mark Fell clarifies comments after hinting at rift with hierarchy

​The Dolly Blues manager appeared to hint at a rift between himself and the club’s hierarchy after the 2-0 defeat to NPL Premier Division leaders South Shields on Saturday.

It was a game which Fell was only able to name three substitutes and just to sum up the almost farcical nature of City’s current plight, sub-goalkeeper Curtis Anderson had to play as a striker in the second half following injuries to Brad Carroll and Christian Sloan.

In the immediate aftermath of the fixture, Fell said that he and his players felt a little bit let down and that he ‘had to be allowed to bring some players in’.

He said: “I can’t put a goalkeeper up front because I’ve only got three subs.

"I understand the problems with contracts and finances, but we have got to get ourselves out of a situation and you can’t send us to South Shields with 14 men.”

Fell has since managed to bring in two players – Nathan Woodthorpe and Matthew Tweedley – although he still had three Under-23s players on the bench for the trip to Warrington Town on Tuesday which ended in another 2-0 defeat.

After that game, Fell cleared up his comments from the weekend.

He said: “It’s not anybody’s fault. I said a lot after the South Shields game but I have had some really good discussions with the club. Whether we have misconstrued communications between us?

"We just have to accept we are in a really tough place.”