KEN Vaughan accused Steve Cuss of disrupting his squad as the fall-out from Poppies’ FA Vase exit descended into a potential tapping-up storm.

The Bournemouth manager claimed his Wimborne Town counterpart had been guilty of “appalling timing” after suggesting he had made moves to lure Poppies stars Jon Blake and Wayne Crutcher to Cuthbury.

Vaughan claimed the players concerned had told him of Cuss’s contact, but Cuss insisted Wimborne always followed the rules and revealed Magpies had lodged an official seven-day approach for one un-named target.

As Wimborne play in the Southern League and Poppies are members of the Wessex League, both clubs can sign the same player on a dual registration basis.

But in order to recruit a player, the Southern League yesterday confirmed that interested clubs from different leagues were required to initially lodge a seven-day notice of the intention to approach a player with any other Saturday team holding their registration.

Vaughan claims Wimborne are chasing two of his men, while Cuss said he submitted a formal approach for just one un-named player.

Vaughan said: “We have had a lot of disruption in the camp since we went out of the Vase. We have had Steve Cuss on the phone 24/7 to our players.

“They are trying to get Blake and Crutcher, which I can understand, but I felt their timing in approaching the players was appalling.

“All they needed to do was put in a seven-day approach or phone us to tell us they were interested.

“We had just lost in the Vase and had a Wessex League Cup semi-final [which Poppies lost to Brockenhurst on Tuesday] coming up, and was asking night and day for our players. They could have waited until the semi-final was out of the way.”

Cuss said: “We do currently have seven days in for an un-named player. I think it is unprofessional when managers name their targets and that is not something I do.

“We are looking to improve and are always out there looking for players, but we do things via the seven-day rule and we do things properly.

“I think the situation with dual registration is quite a tricky one. There is some confusion around dual registrations and the procedures behind that.

“But I don’t think, as a club, we have done anything untoward and we always speak to other clubs and other managers and do things correctly.”

Should Blake or Crutcher leave Victoria Park, they would follow a number of players released by Vaughan following Poppies’ recent FA Vase quarter-final defeat.