Combined Counties League official Reuben Simon has laid the blame for the shortage of football referees at grassroots level firmly at the door of managers.

The Football Association estimates that, in some areas, 20 per cent of matches are played without a qualified match official.

And Hounslow-based Simon, a familiar face at grassroots level, believes bosses who fail to prevent their players from showing dissent during matches are to blame.

"The manager dictates everything and that includes discipline within the team," said Simon, a former Feltham midfielder.

"If a player has a lot to say to a referee about his decisions, it has to be the manager who is to blame as that player obviously feels comfortable doing it within that team he is representing."

Simon was speaking after his experience of taking charge of a couple of Sunday League games in recent weeks as preparation for a return to a higher level after injury.

"A manager of one of the Sunday teams told me that, of their past six games, he had only had a referee for two of them," he said.

"I told him that he was part of the reason along with lots of other managers, because he had allowed his players to constantly question and moan about decisions.

"The only way to lead from the front is to set some examples - and if that means pulling your star player off after 10 minutes for short-term pain, I can guarantee there will be long-term gain.

"Then your players will know that when you tell them not to show dissent to the referee, they will know you mean it.

"When referees hear what a well-disciplined team you have, you will get referees every week.

"And with 11 players on the field concentrating on the game, surely you will have a better chance of being more successful."

Simon uses the example of Brian Clough to demonstrate that instilling good discipline actually increases, rather than diminishes, the chances of success.

"The greatest manager of recent decades, in my opinion, was the great late Brian Clough, who won two European Cups with little Nottingham Forest," he said.

"I have heard endless stories from referees who came across his teams and always spoke about how well-behaved and disciplined they were.

"You only have to look at how well behaved on the field Roy Keane was at Forest and compare that to when he left them to see the influence he had.

"I wonder how many key 50-50 decisions went Forest's way because of the discipline in the team?

"Did referees subconsciously go in their favour when there was doubt over the decision?

"That is something we will never know, but it's something all intelligent managers should think about."