WORCESTER Raiders will tonight hold crisis talks at Sixways in an attempt to resolve the ongoing issues following the controversial departure of co-manager Chris Cornes.

Players will meet with chairman Steve Harris after it was suggested Cornes was "forced out" of the club.

Former Worcester City striker Mark Owen was revealed as his replacement on Wednesday.

Raiders played on Tuesday night despite almost pulling out of their fixture with Cirencester Town Development due to the treatment of Cornes.

Midfielder Kyle Belmonte believes Cornes was "thrown under the bus".

"We deserve answers," he said.

"Especially Chris (Cornes). I think he has been thrown under the bus massively. It's all very up in the air at the moment but tonight we will all know where we stand and what we are going to do. Everyone deserves that.

"The chairman has been hiding behind a screen because he cannot talk but tonight we need answers.

"You cannot fix something that wasn't broke, you can see that this was not a decision based on form.

"It doesn't feel like our club anymore. We have already lost a few players and I feel like we all need to reassess everything. Chris is the backbone of this football club and he didn't deserve this."

Belmonte scored on Tuesday but admitted that he and a few others were unsure of what they were going to do next.

"I do not want to make a rash decision," he added.

"I think we all need to just see what happens Thursday and go from there because right now it doesn't seem right."

Co-manager Karl Gormley admits he was also shaken up by the news and says it's been a tough few days for everyone involved.

"After the game I thanked the lads because it’s been a tough for them as well," he said.

" I have been friends with Chris since school but this is football, you have to move on and we keep going.

"Everyone knows how much this club means to me. I want to keep pushing on. But we need to know where we stand, it’s important and we all have questions to ask and hopefully we can get this sorted.

"At the end of the day, the football is what matters most, that comes first, so we need to make sure we can resolve these issues and move on."