PICKERING TOWN boss Paul Marshall has banned his players from taking part in Sunday morning football next season.

The new man at the helm at the Recreation Ground told a meeting with the club's supporters that any member of his squad who turns out on the seventh day will no longer be a part of his plans for the Northern Counties East League premier division outfit.

The issue of players, paid by semi-professional clubs for their services, playing on Sundays has long blighted the aspirations of many clubs but Marshall, in one of his first key decisions in charge of the Pikes, has stamped down on the problem.

"I don't think players can give their all on a Saturday, Sunday and then a Tuesday," Marshall said when asked about his decision. "Professional footballers can't play three games a week, never mind players who are working as well.

"I want 100 per cent commitment to Pickering Town. I don't want 100 per cent to Sunday morning teams. If you have got a small squad you can't play on a Saturday and do really well and then play Sunday and pick up an injury which means you can't play Tuesday.

"Why should a club pay you a wage when you can't play on a Tuesday night? That's how I always look at it. You get paid for Saturdays and Tuesdays. I'm told quite a few players used to play (Sundays) last year but this is one of the rules I have got.

"That's just the way I am. I have got success through discipline and not playing Sunday morning football. I think it has gone downhill in the last few years because of late-night opening of bars and restaurants. Sometimes lads don't get in until 6am. How can you then go and play football at 10am?

"If that's what players want to do, good luck to them. They just won't be playing for Pickering Town."

After a meeting with the players and the committee last week at the Recreation Ground, Marshall, and assistant Denny Ingram, were unveiled to the supporters in a gathering the boss described as "very positive".

Reiterating to them his desire to push the club into the top five in the next campaign, Marshall added: "I have told the fans and the players that our philosophy is winning games of football. We know how you do it and crowds will come if you are winning.

"I hear people talking about playing it out from the back and passing. We are not playing in the Premier League. They have got perfect pitches. You have got to know how to win games of football. After 17 years of management that's what I have learned to do.

"Even with the budget we have got, and it is not the biggest, I still believe we will win more than we lose."

Pickering's pre-season training will start on Tuesday, June 23 at Malton Sports Community Centre.