BOTTOM of the table AFC St Austell have pulled out of today’s Western League Premier Division clash at leaders Clevedon Town saying they are unable to raise a team.

The news was broken by Clevedon on social media and at 1.30pm there had still been no comment from St Austell, either on social media or other platforms, although a statement was expected today.

It is the latest blow for a club who have had problems ever since long-standing manager Chris Knight stepped down at the end of last season.

Virtually all of the players in his squad, which finished runners-up in the Cornwall Senior Cup in May, left the club soon afterwards, leaving the Lillywhites facing a complete rebuild.

Only a short time before pre-season was about to start, former Dobwalls coach Adam Castlehouse was appointed as the new manager and set about trying to recruit enough players to kick off the new Western League season at the end of July.

The majority of his signings came from the Plymouth leagues and had no experience of Step Five football and the team’s first two games ended in 7-0 defeats to Ivybridge Town (home) and Saltash United (away).

There were signs of an improvement when they played well in a 4-2 defeat at Bridgwater on August 16 and gave Bovey Tracey a run for their money before losing 3-1 in the FA Vase tie at Poltair.

After that the heavy defeats continued, including 7-0 at Barnstaple, 8-0 at Helston and successive 6-0 away losses at Street and Newquay.

Finally they opened their points account on October 11 when beating Nailsea & Tickenham 2-1 at Poltair – but that win and the three points were expunged soon afterwards when the Somerset club pulled out of the league.

St Austell’s last three league results have been 8-0 at Shepton Mallet, 7-0 at home to Bridgwater and 7-0 at Brislington last Saturday.

Squeezed between those was a 4-2 home defeat in the Cornwall Senior Cup to Castlehouse’s previous club Dobwalls, who lie bottom of the South West Peninsula League Premier West division.