6/12/01: WITH the Les Phillips competition taking centre stage at the weekend, there was only a limited amount of Screwfix Direct League games played.

We again found ourselves without a game. I felt our players had to have some sort of run out so the bulk of our side played against Corsham Town Reserves in the Skurrays Wilts League. The only consolation is we have had a couple of niggling injuries which have now had time to clear up.

Team Bath took the opportunity to move above both ourselves and Melksham Town on goal difference. They achieved this by beating the in-form Melksham side 2-1 in Bath. By all accounts the Bath side missed a lot of chances, which was certainly not the case when we played up there and got a sound beating by 5-0.

The facilities and pitch at Bath University are without doubt the best in the league. It does make me wonder however about the state of some of the facilities that you have to endure elsewhere.

When teams apply to join the Western League the management committee lay down quite a strict criteria about grounds - and rightfully so. It does make me think however that pressure should be put on some of the current teams to upgrade their grounds.

You understand that it might not happen overnight, but a three-year period should be enough. If clubs have not adhered to that they should be removed from the league.

I was fortunate last Wednesday to be present at the Forest Green v Macclesfield FA Cup replay. The game itself was excellent and the Conference side outplayed their league opponents almost from start to finish. Their work rate whether on the ball or off it was breathtaking.

They battled for two hours but eventually succumbed 11-10 on penalties with ex-Team Bath player Kevin Langan being the unfortunate player to miss. A lot of people say this is a cruel way to go out and it's not football. I totally disagree although I do think other ways could be experimented with. Penalties were excellent and Forest Green goalkeeper Steve Perrin and his northern counterpart had no chance until Langan eventually brushed over.

What struck me about the Gloucester club was how friendly everyone was behind the scenes. They took what must have been a hugely disappointing result with dignity.

In the Les Phillips Cup Taunton had a 3-1 home win over Division One leaders Bath City Reserves, but certainly didn't have it all their own way as Bath's reserve side outplayed Taunton for long periods.

Corsham gained revenge over Shepton Mallett although I'm sure Mark Godley would swap the league points for the cup victory. If they carry on in the same rich vein of form they will be challenging. Calne lost again but put in a much improved performance against Street. Hopefully things will change for Paul Rankin soon.

We are gearing ourselves up for what promises to be a very tough Christmas period. We face fifth place Backwell next Tuesday followed by two games against in-form Dawlish. We also play top of the league Taunton, unbeaten Bideford and crammed in among that lot is our Boxing Day clash with local rivals Melksham.

A daunting prospect? Certainly, but it is one we can look forward to, all I ever ask of my players is that they give 100 per cent. If we do that in all those games we'll do ok.

We welcomed back two of our old boys last week, Jamie Gale and Julian Alexander. I'm glad to have them back, they certainly strengthen our squad and Jools in particular gives us something different and hopefully he can get over his heel injury and reproduce the form he has shown for us in the past.

A strange affair over at Weston-super-Mare. The ex-Forest Green manager Frank Gregan has signed a three year deal but is not taking over until next year. His assistant Chris Smith is running team affairs with ex-pro David Mehew coaching. This was ok when Gregan was still managing Welsh side Aberystwyth but he has since been released so seems odd he's not taking over till next year.