ANGRY Accrington Stanley chairman Eric Whalley has warned his players to clean up their act - or pay the price!

Whalley has blown a fuse after paying out over £2,500 in fines this season due to the Reds' appalling disciplinary record.

Stanley have had TEN men sent off and picked up over 60 bookings this campaign - ugly statistics that have resulted in Whalley and manager John Coleman being ordered to an FA disciplinary committee later this month.

And red-faced Whalley has laid down the law by insisting players must now pay their own fines.

He said: "A poor disciplinary record is something we urgently need to address and I will be sitting down with the manager and assistant because it has to stop.

"It has been bad for a few years now, and everything has come to a head this season.

"Already it has cost us £2,500 in fines this season - £1,000 for the first time we had five players booked in a match and then a further £1,500 the second time.

"Take into account wages and it costs us even more and that is valuable money that can be put to much better use."

Peter Cavanagh and Steve Halford top the table of shame, each seeing red three times this season.

Jamie Speare, Dean Calcutt, Paul Cook and Andy Proctor make up the ten red cards that have resulted in a flood of suspensions.

Whalley added: "It's a good job we have a squad of 22 players, otherwise I don't think we would be able to put a side out at times.

"Against Bamber Bridge in midweek we had four players suspended, which is just ridiculous.

"It's the same culprits week in week out and we have to stress to them the penalties involved.

"This is the first season we have not enforced a strict code of conduct and it needs to come back in again.

"We have club rules, but I think everyone was on such a high following promotion to the Conference, such things got put to the back of the mind.

"Well the time has come to hit the players in the pocket again. They used to pay their own fines after three bookings, and also for petty things like dissent and time wasting. Unless things improve, they had better get used to digging deep again!"

In defending the indefensible, Whalley does have some sympathy for his passionate players.

The Reds supremo feels the standard of refereeing in the Conference has, at times, been pitifully poor.

But as the club presses ahead with plans to turn full-time next season, Whalley feels he needs to put his own house in order first.

He said: "We are talking about livelihoods, especially now we have plans to go full time.

"A lot of it is passion and certainly the manager would say you have to show that passion on the pitch to get results.

"You only need to look at someone like Stan Ternent at Burnley to see how that passion can be harnessed the right way, but referees also have to be held accountable.

"In my opinion, they are worse in the Conference than they ever were in the UniBond League, but that's because they are one step away from the Football League and are often after brownie points.

"But as a club we too have a responsibility to grasp and we have to show willing and a real determination to get things right."

RED CARDS

Speare...1

Cavanagh...3

Halford...3

Dean Calcutt...1

Cook...1

Procter...1

YELLOW CARDS

Cavanagh...8

Hollins...5

Halford...4

Smith...3

Procter...6

Calcutt...2

Cook...4

James...1

Mullin...1

Prendergast...6

Gouck...6

Williams...8

Flitcroft...2

Armstrong...2

Howarth...0

Durnin...2

Brannan...3

Kennedy...1