By Kevin Marriott

SALTASH United manager Macca Brown has called the Western League’s fixture scheduling ‘obscene’ after the club completed a three-week period of seven matches with a 230-mile round trip to Nailsea & Tickenham.

Those fixtures have included five away games, including midweek trips to Ilfracombe and Brixham and Saturday visits to Oldland Abbotonians (270-mile round trip) and Shepton Mallet (214).

He said Saltash had played more games (16) than any other team in the Western League Premier Division and possibly more than anybody in the country, a workload which has left the Ashes with ‘multiple injuries’.

Speaking after Saturday’s 2-1 victory which was secured by first half goals from Deacon Thomson and Jake Curtis before Oscar Collins pulled one back for the hosts early in the second half, Brown said: “It’s been an incredibly demanding few weeks. Last week at Shepton we had half the team under the age of 18.

“We won on Tuesday against St Blazey and to be honest I couldn’t even really even enjoy it because as soon as the whistle went we were working out how we could patch a team up for Nailsea.

“The fixture scheduling has been obscene to be honest and it’s ripped the enjoyment out of it for a lot of people.”

He went on: “I’ve never known anything like it and we still have a few more weeks of it to come but the players have been magnificent despite this.

“Yesterday was our 16th game of the season, and we are not even out of September.

“People talk about that just being the ‘level’ but we’ve played just one less league game than Helston, Falmouth and Mousehole combined, and they’re the division above.

“It’s just ridiculous fixture scheduling that I assume is a reaction to the bad weather last season. If that’s their concern, lower the amount of teams in the league to 16 so it’s a more realistic fixture schedule, because this isn’t the answer.

“I have no issues with the miles, we sign up for that, but when it’s multiple trips a week it’s the time demand that it puts on players.

“Three games a week including two trips to the Bristol area is a 30-plus hour football week, that’s not far off a full-time job and it has to be looked at.

“I know there’s a few teams that put lads on significant contracts, but 99% of the lads in the league aren’t in that situation.

“In a league with such a diverse range of teams in terms of location, there has to be more thought put into it and not relying on a computer.

“But the load is too much regardless. We’ve played more games than anyone in the league, and I would even say probably in the whole country, but I feel for all the Western League sides and the league need to reflect on it.

“We’ve got multiple injuries thanks to the schedule and I’m sure we are not the only ones. Then the CCFA schedule the Senior Cup fixtures for this midweek as well.

“I’m not sure what the thought process is to be honest and something has to change because it is not realistic for players, staff or volunteers.

“You’ve got Premier League players moaning about the load put on them, with all the expert recovery, and we are playing more in non league.”

Saltash’s hectic schedule continues this week. As Brown mentioned, Saltash are due to welcome Southern League Division One South outfit Falmouth Town in the first round of the Cornwall Senior Cup tomorrow night (Tuesday, 7.45pm), while Saturday’s task sees them head up the M5 once more to Brislington (3pm).