FORMER Army PT instructor Tony Kerwick is dishing out his own brand of corporal punishment to Calne Town's weary players as they bid to get fit for the new Screwfix Direct League First Division campaign.

New joint-manager Kelvin Highmore has enlisted the help of 26-year-old PTI Kerwick to improve the fortunes of a side who have finished inside the First Division's relegation places for the past two seasons.

They have only been spared the drop into county league football as a result of league restructuring, but Highmore and fellow Calne chief Paul Rankin are determined not to be waiting on the decision of the Screwfix management committee come April next year.

Not that the duo's radical methods are proving particularly popular with the players.

Many had difficulty in walking following former corporal Kerwick's first one-hour stint at Bremhill View last week, and anyone who fell behind during the session was given extra press-ups or sit-ups as a result.

Defender Nick Taylor, who is used to rigorous training from his time under Brian Newlands at Devizes, was one of the casualties of Kerwick's strict regime last week.

He said: "I couldn't walk for about three days. It was tough.

"A few of us haven't done a lot over the summer, and we'll have to see how it goes over the next few weeks. "You have got to keep your head down and keep going. I don't know whether there were any that dropped out because I just couldn't look up.

"But you've got to be fit. Hopefully it will help us get a bit fitter than last year and make a bit of difference."

Kerwick, who now works as a PTI at Police Headquarters in Devizes, insists he will be showing his new troops no mercy over the next three weeks.

He said: "I do an hour with them before the managers take them through a ball skills session.

"I do interval training with them, work on their speed, reactions and times.

"If they can't cut it I have to shout a punishment, such as a few press-ups or knees-to-chest, anything like that.

"That helps push them on a bit. It is all about working hard and showing them no mercy."

Kerwick, who used to play for Malmesbury Vics, helped out in a similar capacity at Highmore's former club Biddestone.

Although he concedes he is making the players go through the pain barrier, he believes they will be able to reap the benefits when the new campaign begins with a trip to Shepton Mallet on August 17.

Said Kerwick: "I think it will make a difference to them in the league. The fitter you are, the more you can concentrate on the game and use your skill. Fitness comes first over anything.

"You only have to look back to the World Cup and South Korea. They probably weren't the most skillful team, but fitness gave them confidence and it got them to the semi finals."

Life will not get easier for the players once Kerwick's four-week tenure at the club's training sessions has finished.

Rankin and Highmore have arranged for a speed and agility specialist to put them through their paces later in the month.

Highmore believes Calne would have comfortably avoided a bottom two finish last season had the squad been fit enough to compete.

He said: "They lost 11 games in the last five minutes and that's got to be down to fitness.

"I managed to get the PTI to come in and it has been hard for them on a Tuesday. I've looked at the teams in the area and the main thing is the fitness in the Western League has to be of a certain standard.

"From what I can gather, fitness hasn't always been the number one priority. I've taken it upon myself to get someone in to help out and the players love me to bits for it.

"We did a bleep test early on, which was a shock to the system, and the PTI has taken it from there. He's here for four weeks then we have a speed and agility person coming in.

"That is all about quick feet and we're hoping to get him in on a Saturday. The problem is I've just mentioned it to the players and, suddenly, they are all either working or going on holiday."