FORMER reserve team manager Dave Connell has hit out at Bromsgrove Rovers boss Jimmy Mullen's treatment of the second string and branded him 'unprofessional'.

Connell, who is joining West Midlands League side Ledbury Town, claims the Rovers boss did not speak to him or the reserve team players during the final weeks of last season.

He said: "Jimmy Mullen is the least professional manager I have ever worked with.

"He didn't speak to me or my players for the last five weeks of the season.

"He didn't even say goodbye to any of us on the final day."

Connell also feels that the club could lose several players from the reserve team because they were not given a chance in the first team.

He said: "Some of the lads who played in the reserves did a great job and they thought they had a chance of making it into the first team.

"Obviously the first team manager thought differently because they weren't getting picked.

"It could be many of the players have already decided to move on because of that."

Connell joined the club in the summer of 2003 and was appointed with the task of starting up the club's reserve side.

He guided a youthful Rovers team to the Worcestershire Senior Urn final and the runners-up spot in the Midland Combination Reserve Division in the 2004/2005 season.

* Jimmy Mullen believes he is closing in on his first signings of the summer.

He said: "I've got four or five players I want to talk to very soon.

"At the moment everything is at an early stage but things will start to take shape."