MANAGER Les Jones has hit out at league bosses for denying Malvern Town the chance to rake in much-needed cash over the festive period.

Malvern are not due to return to West Midlands League Premier Division action until Saturday, January 7, when they travel to Dudley Town.

And Jones said he was against the Christmas break as he felt Malvern would have benefited from hosting a local derby during the holiday season.

He also believes there should be more consultation with clubs before the league set out the fixtures.

“It’s the revenue from the bar that keeps the club going and the biggest bar-take is on first team home games,” he said.

“It is frustrating, especially over the festive period when people are on holiday.

“It would have been great to have a local derby over the Christmas period.

"There are Pegasus Juniors or Wellington or Bewdley Town — any of those would have been good. We've played Bewdley twice already.

“There should be some consultation with the clubs, asking what would you like on the Bank Holiday.

“And it is something that our secretary (Margaret Scott) will be discussing with the league, I am sure.”

Jones said they were scheduled to face Wolverhampton Sporting Community at the HDanywhere Community Stadium tomorrow but the visitors pulled out.

“They refused to travel on that day and the league said it was a voluntary fixture so they accepted that,” he added.

However, league chairman Wendy Juggins insisted they had contacted “all of the clubs” and the “majority” said they did not want to play on Christmas Eve (last Saturday) and New Year’s Eve (this Saturday).

“We cannot force clubs to play football if they don’t want to,” she said.

“We know they do in the Midland Football League so they play a full programme but for whatever reason the clubs in our competitions don’t want to play on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.

“We do have a game on New Year’s Eve because both Bridgnorth and Willenhall asked for a fixture.

"We do consult with clubs."

The league chief added: “We would love nothing more than a full programme on Boxing Day and New Year’s Eve.

"It would have been fantastic. We always used to.

“But for whatever reason they didn’t want to play. It’s a club request, not a league request.”