DUDLEY Town footballers were left kicking their heels this week after their proposed West Midlands League game against Hereford side Pegasus Juniors had to be called off last Saturday because there was no hot water available at their Brierley Hill ground.

The Robins use the Dell Stadium in Bryce Road for their home games which is run by Dudley Council.

Robins chairman Steve Austin confirmed: "I received a phone call informing me there was no hot water and that they'd ordered a part which should arrive later this week.

"Apart from that, there was very little I could do.

"To be honest, we go to a number of grounds each season and the players are always moaning that the showers are cold.

"We were quite happy to play the game and so were the officials.

"In fact some of the players were going to use the situation to take 'The Ice Bucket Challenge' and raise a bit of money for charity, but Pegasus were offered the option to play and declined."

The Robins now face an anxious wait to see if this Saturday's important FA Cup contest against higher ranked Market Drayton Town goes ahead.

There's £2,000 worth of prize money awaiting the winners and Mr Austin insisted: "It's massive money for a club like us. I shall be ringing the council every day to make sure the part has arrived. They've got four days to sort the matter out.

"It's not just about the money, because, if we win, we play Stourbridge in the next round and that would be immense for us."

This isn't the first time the Dell Stadium has suffered issues this year.

Proposed maintenance work scheduled for early summer took far longer than expected when cleaning equipment broke down causing another delay while parts had to be ordered.

It meant resident athletics club Dudley and Stourbridge Harriers having to transfer some of their fixtures to Stourport.