Northern League clubs have asked for another meeting with the Football Association over their future role within the national league system.

FA officer Mike Appleby was due at an EGM of Northern League clubs last night, but pulled out several days beforehand because of illness.

And after discussing the possibility of the league becoming isolated when the new Conference North gets under way next season, the clubs want some questions answering - and have suggested that the FA takes a reality check.

Northern League chairman Mike Amos said: "There a feeling of dismay in the league at the way it seems to have been abandoned.

"The clubs want to ask Mike Appleby if it can be resolved in one way or another. At the moment, it is ridiculous to expect a club from the Northern League to move upwards into the UniBond League First Division, when that league stretches all the way down to Birmingham.

"When the FA said that it was going to reshape the system, it said that the system would be fairer, it would save costs for clubs, and there would be more excitement and support. But how can these apply to the Northern League?

"One delegate said that we couldn't have got ourselves into a worse situation if we tried.

"Undoubtedly, the Northern League wants to stay and play an active role in the national league system. There is no suggestion whatsoever that we want to leave it.

"Someone suggested that the FA takes a reality check and look closely at the difficulties we're facing.

"And that's why the clubs want to see Mike Appleby in person at another meeting, so they can get some answers."

Appleby appears to be the only FA officer looking after the restructure of the pyramid, as two others have been made redundant.

And with the responsibility of ensuring that the two new Conference divisions start as scheduled next season - there is the threat of legal action by the Ryman League - then the Northern League isn't holding its breath that they'll get some satisfaction.

Willington manager Alan Shoulder appears in front of Durham FA on Monday to discuss the abandonment of the game at Newcastle Benfield Saints last October. Shoulder has already appeared in front of DFA to discuss his sending off, which was quashed by the committee, and now the committee want to hear his version of events which led to the referee abandoning the game. The referee sent Shoulder from the dugout earlier in the game, and after half-time asked Shoulder to move from his position. Shoulder refused on the grounds that he hadn't been sent off and the referee then abandoned the game.

Billingham Synthonia manager Stuart Coleby believes he learned plenty about his players in their Vase defeat at Congleton last Saturday. While Synners were furious about the award of a late extra time penalty against them, which put them out of the competition, Coleby spotted one or two weaknesses in the team.

"Maybe one or two froze a little because they hadn't played in front of a crowd that size before, and that tells me things about them. Maybe that's something we need to bear in mind for the future,'' he revealed.

"This isn't sour grapes, but I told our players afterwards that we would beat Congleton seven times out of ten. They were a team we could have beaten, and to go out on a penalty decision like that - we still say that Dave O'Gorman headed the ball off the line - was hard to take. It just goes to show that you need the rub of the green in cup ties. It's something we'll reflect on for a few weeks."

Durham City have parted company with assistant manager Neil Hixon. Hixon quit as manager of Second Division club Seaham Red Star three months ago to become assistant to Billy Cruddas, but he walked away after last weekend's game at Thornaby. Cruddas said: "Neil has told us that he would rather be a manager than an assistant manager."

Washington Nissan have put Neil Moan and Andrew Clark on the transfer list at their own request. Manager John Oliver admits that his team has a "battle on their hands". Washington have dropped to third bottom in recent weeks and injuries and suspensions could take their toll as they try to climb out of the relegation zone.

"We've got a lot of hard work ahead. Our problem has been that we've had so many players out injured and suspended, and I've never been able to field our strongest team yet this season.

"But we have to get on with it, and make sure we're not in the bottom three for long. I still think there are eight teams who could occupy the third bottom spot."

Norton manager Ray Morton is demanding better finishing when Norton play at Alnwick tomorrow. Norton lost their basement battle against Crook last Saturday to leave them third bottom of the table, just above Easington. Morton said: "We must have had ten clear cut chances against Crook, but could only put the ball in the back of the net once. But I must admit that I would be more concerned if we weren't creating chances. Hopefully, Chris Garbutt will be back soon after injury."

Crook are hoping to pull further away from trouble when they entertain Prudhoe tomorrow. After winning 3-1 at Norton last Saturday, they are now six points clear of danger, and manager Alan Oliver said: "It was a great result last Saturday because it eased the pressure on us, but we still have to keep winning. We must build on the win against Norton, and there's no reason why we can't."

It won't make Northern League clubs feel any better, but the fifth round draw of the FA Vase, to be played on February 7, is:

Congleton v Sudbury, Studley v Gosport, Colne v Bitton, Andover v Leighton, Chertsey v Bideford, Wroxham v Winchester, Eastwood v Stone Dominoes, Keynsham v Cray Wanderers.