Crosbie admits he may face battle to keep players happy as March Town United squad tops 30

The Hares, who host Thrapston Town in the first qualifying round of the FA Vase on Saturday, were delighted to see 31 players at training on Tuesday.

“That’s a magnificent number,” said Crosbie. “It means we’ve now got an awful lot of options.

“But I’m not naive enough to think that there won’t be any issues with players. At the moment I’ve got a nice selection headache but I’m conscious that it could become a major headache.

“I’ll be honest with players and I’ll tell them where I see them. Everybody has to be available for both teams - there will be no ‘I’m a first team player only’ attitude.

“It’s down to me to manage players’ expectations and hopefully we can keep people happy.”

Chatteris Town’s Jack Saunders and former Wisbech Town Reserves player Mark Reynolds are the latest to sign up to Crosbie’s revolution at the GER.

Goals from Robbie Masters and Giuliano Staffieri helped the Hares net their first win of the season with a 2-1 victory over struggling Cornard United on Saturday - but Crosbie said their performance was as dreadful as the weather.

“The game started in bright sunshine but then it started absolutely tipping it down,” he said. “We were really woeful and the weather may have played a part.

“If we had lost we could have been bottom of the league which would have been a complete and utter disaster - but as it is we’re seventh so there are some positives.”

March will be rewarded with a trip to Thurlow Nunn First Division leaders Cambridge University Press if they can see off Thrapston at the weekend.

Crosbie said: “It’s an opportunity for us to impress. We need to step it up a level and everybody acknowledged that at training - they knew we were rubbish on Saturday.”

The Hares will be without ‘keeper Marc Hipwell but defender Stu Porter is set to return.

Meanwhile, young striker Danny Emmington’s future with March seems to have been thrown into doubt as he has been playing for Parson Drove.