THREE players who should have started Saturday’s west-country derby against Bristol Rovers have been dropped due to being late for a team meeting, revealed Swindon Town manager John Sheridan.

The trio, who were not named by Sheridan, should have arrived at the County Ground for a video analysis session on Rovers at 10 past 10 on Friday morning.

However, the mystery group did not reach the required location until well after the agreed time, and as such all three are set to lose their place in the starting XI for Saturday’s League One encounter away at Bristol Rovers.

Sheridan was being quizzed on the importance of Saturday’s fixture in relation to Town’s season when the surprising revelation came about.

He said: I shouldn’t have to talk to the players about this game, they should know the importance of it and what’s at stake.

“We had a video analysis session this morning where we showed the team what to expect, and three of the players were late. They were late to the session on the opposition a day before the game.

“That’s affected my team selection now – I’ll deal with it the best way I can. But they should know the importance of the game.

“They’re all on WhatsApp, they’re all in the WhatsApp group, they knew it was 10 past 10 meeting. Every player was there, other than those three.

“I just think it’s today’s footballer if I’m telling the truth. There are 16 players at the meeting who can read the message, and there are three who switch off and can’t read it – it’s very disappointing.”