FOOTBALL managers are renowned for kicking every ball with their players as they watch the game from the touchline.

But the impulse got the better of one Oxfordshire soccer boss - who ran on to the pitch and got stuck in to help his struggling team.

Keith Miles, 43, manager of Cowley-based Club 66-86, couldn't bear to stand and watch any longer as his side went 4-0 down to Chalgrove in the Morrells of Oxford Sunday League second division fixture on Sunday.

Midway through the second half, as Chalgrove prepared to attack, Mr Miles took matters into his own hands, charging into the action, tackling a Chalgrove player and clearing the ball.

The game was restarted with a dropped ball and the top-of-the-table clash, finished 5-0 in Chalgrove's favour.

When the Oxford Mail asked Mr Miles about the incident, he said he had got angry and "ran on to the pitch and kicked the ball."

He added: "I tackled one of their players. Maybe I was trying to make a point to my own players. The ref came over and had a word and I apologised to the ref and the players."

Mr Miles refused to comment on whether he is likely to face disciplinary action from the Oxfordshire Football Association (OFA).

Chalgrove manager Dan Knight said he was disappointed with Mr Miles's pitch invasion at Stadhampton Green.

He added: "I've known Keith Miles for many years. In fact I have played against him and he was always a tough competitor, but he has let frustration get the better of him.

"When we went 3-0 up, a decision went in our favour and he kicked a bucket on to the pitch, so the signs were there that he wasn't too happy.

"Our winger Paul Coles was just about to receive the ball. There wasn't a defender in sight and Mr Miles just went on and cleared the ball. It was embarrassing.

"The referee wrote 'misconduct' on the team sheet, so I don't think we have heard the end of it."

Mark Askew, 22, a Chalgrove supporter who was watching the game, said: "I've never seen anything like it.

He added: "The ref came across and said he would be reporting him to the FA for misconduct."

Geoff Bower, chairman of the Morrells of Oxford Sunday League, said the OFA would be asked to investigate. No-one from OFA was available for comment.

This is not the first time Mr Miles has stepped out of line in football, although his recent outburst was unrelated to previous incidents.

In 2003, he was banned for six months and fined £100 with £30 costs after he was found guilty by the OFA of common assault on a referee.

In March 2001, he was banned from playing for two years and fined £100 after he was found guilty of assault when he was playing for Roebuck against Mansfield Road.

That ban was reduced on appeal to six months after Mr Miles argued that the original sentence was out of proportion to the offence.

In June, 2004, Mr Miles was banned from domestic and international matches for three years. In December that year, at Oxford Crown Court, he appealed in the hope that the sentence would be reduced to two years, enabling him to travel to Germany for the World Cup in 2006. He lost the appeal.