GRAHAM HEATHCOTE admitted he was 'flabbergasted' at being sent to the stands 10 minutes from the end of a convincing 3-0 win over Eastbourne Borough at Moss Lane on Tuesday night.

Alty were coasting to victory when Heathcote took exception to a yellow card for James Smith and found himself being dismissed from the dug-out by referee Darren Bond, on the advice of the fourth official.

With a three-match suspension already hanging over him, the Alty manager is now bracing himself for a lengthy touchline ban, even though he insists he did not step out of line.

"It was a perfectly good tackle by James, not even a foul, so when he got a yellow card, I made one or two observations," he said.

"They were addressed to no-one. If I had moved towards the fourth official, pointing and giving him a mouthful, I could have understood what followed.

"But that wasn't the case. They were just generalisations that disappeared into the night air, as happens with managers and coaches on the sidelines every week, yet this fourth official interpreted it as being aimed at him.

"I was flabbergasted when he called the referee over, and I was sent to the stand. I hadn't had a single altercation with anyone all night, and my comments about the yellow card were nothing out of the ordinary and, more importantly, were directed at no-one. The fourth official was clearly over-sensitive and over-zealous, and he even claimd later that I had aimed the remarks at the assessor, which was equally untrue.

"I'll have to see what the FA do now, but I've got a three-match suspended ban from nearly two years ago. There's no point appealing, but some people nearby, who were as astounded as I was, may submit written evidence in my defence."

Impressive midfielder Peter Doran was sent off soon after opening the scoring and now faces an automatic three-match ban. Keeper Stuart Coburn and skipper Robbie Lawton could return at Eastbourne on Saturday, while striker John McAliskey is also fit again.

"Peter did really well, but we can't complain about his red card," added Heathcote. "He was going at 100mph and dived in a bit, so it is a lesson he will have to learn."