YOU won't find Nigel Coates apologising for the merciless way his side slaughtered seven-man Atherton LR on Wednesday night.

"I'd settle for winning 6-0 against a team of seven men every week," was the Colne manager's ruthless response to the result.

However, it was already 3-0 when Atherton had their first man sent off and by the time their goalkeeper became the fourth man dismissed he'd already picked the ball out of the net half a dozen times.

Coates said: "There was no animosity between the players, it was all directed towards the referee, and they lost their discipline completely.

"It didn't affect the game because we were 3-0 up before the first lad got sent off.

"But I told our lads at half-time to keep quiet and leave the referee alone because I knew Atherton wouldn't finish the game with 11 men and they didn't.

"It all started after 20 minutes when we got our first penalty. It was one of those where there's pushing and shoving in the area from a corner and they're not usually given because it goes on all the time.

"We missed the kick but from then on they just thought the referee was against them.

"I think the referee did go over the top a bit because he could have had a word with the captain or the bench to tell their lads to clam down but didn't do any of that.

"But if the boot had been on the other foot, I would have expected better discipline from our lads, which is what I told them at half-time."

No matter how bizarre the circumstances, a six-goal thrashing of a top eight side in NWCL Division One sets Colne up perfectly for the visit of unbeaten Skelmersdale United tomorrow.

A further boost is the return of Ian Simpson, who teamed up in the forward line with hat-trick hero Carl Haworth after missing five weeks through injury.

"Carl had a bit of a lean spell but it helped having Ian back with him," added Coates.

"It took a little bit of the pressure off because Ian played well without scoring so it was good to have the front two back in tandem."

The reunion of last year's 65-goal partnership increases Coates' attacking options even further with David Gray and Paul Forsyth also available.

Gray came in as a substitute for the Atherton game following his acrimonious departure from Chorley, while Forsyth will be looking to rediscover his good early season scoring form with Rossendale United.

And it's goalscoring that the manager felt was the main area that his side needed to improve, having just 15 league goals before the Atherton rout.

"We didn't play any different on Wednesday to how we have been, we've just not been finding the back of the net," said Coates.

"In the FA Cup at Brigg we dominated possession without scoring and against Stone last week we could have been a couple of goals up.

"Against Atherton, once we got some daylight between us and the opposition, we showed we can play some lovely stuff."

Danny Potts will also be fit for selection on Saturday, giving Coates a squad of 19 players to pick from.