LAWYERS acting for ice hockey players in their five-month pay dispute with the Newcastle Jesters have been instructed to push for an early tribunal.

About £150,000 in unpaid wages - three months' pay - is owed to the squad from last season.

The Ice Hockey Players' Association (IHPA) has been acting on behalf of the players, who have returned to their homes, mostly in Scandinavia and the US.

The IHPA is becoming increasingly frustrated with the club's owner, Fablon of London, and its media arm, The Eye Group.

Chairman Paul Smith has been promising an end to the dispute for some time.

IHPA executive director Jo Collins said: "Over the past few weeks, I have had any number of brief conversations with Paul Smith, as he flits from meeting to meeting in between lunch and dinner appointments.

"He constantly promises settlement within two weeks, and has done since the middle of April."

Ms Collins said she believed the situation was linked with the Eye Group's recent bid for part of the Superleague's South Yorkshire franchise.

"My view is that the Newcastle situation has been, and still is, inextricably tied into the Sheffield franchise award scenario," she said.

"I can categorically state that the players remain unpaid as of today's date, and whether or not they will be is a question that only Paul Smith can currently answer.

"But for the moment, we will continue to proceed along the legal route."