BUCCANEERS boss Garry May has defended their decision to use high-scoring Jerran Hart at reserve after coming under attack from his King’s Lynn counterpart Dale Allitt for doing so.

Bournemouth Castle Cover’s team manager claims he is allowed to use Hart at number seven under National League rules, and that other clubs would do the same if they had the opportunity.

Allitt turned up the heat ahead of the Dorset side’s tough league trip to King’s Lynn tonight (7.30pm) when he said: “I’ve nothing against Jerran or Bournemouth – but it’s a ridiculous situation and no-one is happy about it.

“People are coming up to me asking how it can happen and I’ve not got an answer.

“Here you’ve got a ride who is scoring well as a reserve in the Premier League for Scunthorpe, yet he can also rider at reserve in the National League for Bournemouth where he’s averaging between eight and nine points a meeting.

“We are five months into the season and Jerran has done the required three home and away meetings, but he’s not actually going to get a proper average until September.

“It makes a mockery of it when we are trying to bring on kids like Jake Knight and Rhys Naylor and they are coming up against a rider with his experience.”

May said: “We planned to have Jerran in our one-to-five at the start of the season and were told to move him to reserve by National League chief Peter Morrish.

“Jerran has done his three home and away league matches and I rang Peter to confirm the situation and he said now he goes up into the main body of the team on September 1.

“Peter does the rules. That’s it. It’s just a good bit of management on our part.

“Originally we thought Jerran would be in the one-to-five on a 6.00 point average. Then we got told he was on a 4.83 average and we could use him at reserve.

“The 4.83 is not last year’s, but his 2007 average with Sittingbourne because in 2008 he only did five National League meetings for Sittingbourne, not the six you need to get an official average.

“Some people might say it’s not fair he can ride against the likes of Jake and Rhys, but it’s within the rules.

“If the shoe was on the other foot, I’m sure Dale would probably do the same as us. Everyone would love Jerran or Buxton’s Craig Cook at reserve.

“It does hamper us sometimes when Jerran rides for Scunthorpe and we have to bring in a junior to cover for him, which we have to do at Plymouth next week and at Newport the following Monday.”

King’s Lynn: 1 James Cockle (guest), 2 Adam Lowe, 3 Scott Campos, 4 Adam Allott, 5 Darren Mallett, 6 Rhys Naylor, 7 Chris Widman.

Buccaneers: 1 Kyle Hughes (guest), 2 Andrew Aldridge, 3 Kyle Newman, 4 Mark Baseby, 5 Danny Warwick, 6 Aaron Baseby, 7 Jerran Hart.