JOHN Gregory could put injury-hit right back David Kerslake on a pay as you play contract if Ipswich agree to giving the 31-year-old a free transfer.

Kerslake has already missed two matches of his Adams Park loan through injury and his groin strain could keep him out of tomorrow's match against Brentford and the final game of his loan at Northampton on Tuesday.

Gregory said: "It maybe tells me something about his physical condition. If I do sign him the idea of paying him every time he plays has certainly crossed my mind."

Gregory is now in a dilemna. Presuming Kerslake does not recover from the groin strain he picked up in training, the boss has to decide whether to take an unfit Kerslake for a third month and continue paying a percentage of his high Ipswich wages.

John Gregory believes cars are partly to blame for the club's latest crop of injuries.

David Kerslake (groin strain) drives in from Ipswich every day and Michael Forsyth (hamstring) commutes from Solihull.

Gregory said: "Driving has not helped their cause. The amount of time players are spending in their cars is not good. It doesn't do your body any good as people who drive for a living will tell you."

Nicky Mohan blamed his recent back strain, picked up after carrying his baby daughter, on the amount of time he spends in the car and goalkeeper Martin Taylor, who commutes from the East Midlands, has also had back trouble.

Gregory, who once tried to insist on all signings living within a 25 mile radius of the club, said: "Sitting in a car does strange things to your body. When I was playing at Derby I pulled a calf muscle in training because I'd been using my left foot on the clutch so much in a traffic jam.

"We try to make sure that players come out of their cars and have a good stretch in the gym and try and keep their spine straight before training."

The 25 mile radius idea is still in practice but with players like Forsyth moving towards the end of his career and Steve McGavin just becoming a father, Gregory has found it an increasingly difficult rule to insist upon for all his players.

Blues will play away at Reading in the second round of the Berks and Bucks Senior Cup after the first division side beat Slough 6-2 last week. No date has yet been arranged.

Triallist Danny Bulman from Ashford Town scored one of the goals as a strong Wanderers reserves side beat Stevenage 2-0 in the Capital League on Monday. Paul Read got the other goal.

Wanderers are in the Premiership when it comes to food. The club came 19th in the Colman's Football Food Guide, which looked at all Football League clubs.

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