Ian Banks is hoping the football authorities set some ground rules before the new season gets underway.

Former Bantams player and assistant manager Banks is at the helm at Eccleshill United now and his last campaign suffered from an FA directive.

The Eagles’ squad contained a number of foreign players who were part of Mark Ellis’ Leeds-based academy.

Midway through last season the FA decreed that the players who were in the country as overseas students of Richmond University were ineligible to play for Eccleshill in Kool Sport Northern Counties East League Division One.

“We have had to cope and it has been a bit frustrating. Most of our lads are young, apart from Scott Price. The average age throughout last season was just 20,” said Banks, whose own son, 16-year-old Oliver, joined following his release from Doncaster Rovers’ Academy.

“The midweek games have cost us really because we have so many unavailable, I have had to be on the substitutes' bench four or five times.

"We need two or three older heads for next season to help the younger lads, and I have been speaking to a centre back who has played for Farsley Celtic in the past.

“If we can get him it will help but we still need to sort a few things out. As a club, though, I believe we are on the up.”

Many of the players at Ellis’ football academy are Americans but the Eagles did have a goalkeeper from the Caribbean and a Belgian.

When they were in Banks’ side, the Eagles were flying high but from the turn of the year without them it was a very long end to the season.

Banks added: “This thing with the American lads needs sorting because that was very frustrating and hurt us as a club.

"We would definitely have been third or fourth if we could have played them all season but ended up tenth.

“They are still allowed to play for our reserves and under-19s, and still did, but that made it harder for me as manager of the first team because when I had injuries, suspensions and unavailable players I couldn’t dip down into the reserves or youth team for replacements.

“It is not fair on the lads themselves because they are only allowed to play in the West Yorkshire League and West Riding County Amateur League and, no disrespect to either of those leagues, these lads need a better standard than that to extend themselves.

“Their football development is suffering, and for the money it is costing them to be over here it isn’t fair to hold them back.

"I think what the FA and football authorities were worried about was that it was a full team made up of foreign college kids but that was never going to happen.”