NICK CUSACK urged controversial Swansea City chairman Tony Petty to quit the club after calling his refusal to pay the players' wages as "absolutely disgraceful."

Petty, currently in Australia, asked the Professional Footballers' Association for a £225,000 loan on Christmas Eve to cover the wages at the club for the next three months.

And that drew an angry response from Cusack, Swansea captain and PFA chairman, after the Swans had secured their biggest league victory of the season yesterday - 3-0 at Exeter.

"As soon as Mr Petty relinquishes control of the club the better for everybody concerned - the supporters, the players and the club," said Cusack.

"I thought it was disgraceful the way they told us last week that we were getting paid only to call me in on Christmas Eve to say that wasn't the case.

"They didnt even have the decency to ring round the players and tell them what was happening.

"I think that shows total contempt for the players. The players were disgusted by that, but we care for this club and we will continue to give our best on the field.

"We don't want to see this club destroyed, we don't want to see this club die. Tony Petty's actions and behaviour are absolutely digraceful.

"How do the lads pay for Christmas? They were told they were getting paid and went out and got presents for their kids only to be told there was no money for them.

"I've never known anything like it and, of course, the person we need to talk to about this is in Australia. You can't get hold of him and he's not making any comment.

"It's just symptomatic of the way he's running the club and it's about time he left the players and the good people of Swansea alone."

Petty has promised a statement by the end of the week, but Cusack said all trust from the players to the board had been removed by the Christmas Eve bombshell.

"This really is the final straw as far as the players are concerned," said Cusack. "It's been a difficult period for the club ever since Tony Petty took over. But if he's not prepared to pay wages and our pension contributions then why is he involved in the club?

"But they (the board) have got to ensure that they honour their obligations under our contracts and pay us.

"Mr Petty has to realise that there's no way back now - but we will carry on playing because we will always honour our contracts."

Swansea put their financial worries to one side to see off Exeter 3-0 at St James Park.

The Swans had to wait until the 57th minute to break the deadlock when they were awarded a penalty for Jamie Campbell's foul on Mamady Sidibe, and Steve Watkin scored from the spot.

From then on, the visitors never looked back and in the 69th minute dangerman Sidibe laid on a perfect pass for Watkin to drive home his second goal.

Jonathan Coates wrapped up the points four minutes from time when he rounded off a brilliant solo run by drilling home the third goal.

Exeter: Van Heusden (Fraser 45), Whitworth, Watson, Campbell, McConnell, Cronin, Tomlinson (Richardson 59), Ampadu, Roscoe (Flack 59), Roberts, Read.

Subs Not Used: Power, Barlow.

Booked: Ampadu.

Swansea: Freestone, Terry Evans, Sharp, O'Leary, Mumford, Howard, Cusack, Brodie (Phillips 88), Coates, Sidibe (Williams 74), Watkin.

Subs Not Used: Jones, Todd, Casey.

Goals: Watkin 57 pen, 69, Coates 86.

Attendance: 4,123.

Referee: B Curson (Walsall).

Frank Keating finds the Leeds legend John Charles, 70 this week, in love with the game despite everything

If Leeds United can bring themselves to lift their shame-faced gaze from their self-imposed tribulations, they will realise they have good reason to offer tidings of thanksgiving this festive season. The most illustrious and noble son in all the club's history celebrates his 70th birthday on Thursday. For added measure John Charles is happy to claim he is Leeds's most devoted supporter - all the more reason to insist he has no wish to join in the current imbroglio surrounding his club.

Alongside Northern Ireland's 55-year-old George Best and England's shining knight Sir Tom Finney, who will be 80 in April, the Welshman Charles stands on the topmost plinth of the pantheon reserved for Britain's pre-eminent living footballers. Of that transcendent troika Charles can claim uniqueness - although the modest ancient never would - for his all-round splendours had him playing at club, country and World Cup heights as both an attacking centre-forward and a trenchant centre-half. As pioneer, too, Charles is the British player who fashioned the most glistening career abroad. Forty years on his reputation is cherished with a passionate rapture by Juventus of Turin.

Last week there was a prideful fuss after David Beckham and Michael Owen were named in high esteem in world and European polls. In an early manifestation of Fifa gimmick, in 1959, 500 football folk were asked to select their best Global XI of that time to play, say, a fantasy match against Mars. Charles was chosen at both centre-forward and centre-half.

All of 42 years later Buckingham Palace caught up with such renown and this October the man all football knew as King John was dubbed CBE by, aptly, Prince Charles. That belated honour was announced - probably inspired - by his being summoned back to Italy a few months previously to be acclaimed by the throng in Turin's towering Stadio delle Alpi as "the greatest of any foreigner ever to play in Serie A". Il massimo!

In Italy in the late 1950s Charles's lilting Welsh baritone had his gramophone recordings of anything from Sorrento to light Verdi topping the local pops. He was as recognisable as Gina Lollobrigida (more so than any of the string of prime ministers the country had in that time). He lived in a 17th-century villa set on a sun-baked estate overlooking the Po valley. He will celebrate his three-score-and-10 this week in his two-up semi on a windswept estate on the Bradford edge of Leeds.

In Turin he was part-owner of a swank downtown restaurant; he lost money on it. Nor were business ventures successful when, on his return to Leeds, he was mine host at the New Inn, Churwell, or when he and his devoted second wife, Glenda, ran the Gomersal Park Hotel on the edge of the city. Were it not for the old hero's welcoming charm and dignity, the tale might read like one of those bitter-sweet short stories which Brian Glanville used to write of a footballer's sad and soulful rise and fall. Happily it is not that sort of plot.

Charles has suffered some bouts of ill health and says his recall is not what it should be. Though he cannot remember something three hours ago, he is still pretty good on 30 years ago. He remains in no doubt that "it was the wonderful game of football which gave me the chances to lead such a full and wonderful life. Without it I'd have been nothing special, nothing out of the ordinary. Put it like this, if it wasn't for football, you wouldn't be talking to me now, would you?"

If it was not for football . . . The tale, in fact, is a triumphant one and this week's birthday milestone worth celebrating. He was born in Wales's industrial depression, first son of the large happy family of Lill and Ned, a Swansea steel erector. By his teens the "Swans" of Vetch Field had become a rich nursery: Jack Kelsey, Trevor Ford, Cliff and the Jones boys, Terry Medwin, the Allchurches and young Charles's particular favourite, the captain of Wales Roy Paul.

The skinny ragamuffin gets a boot-cleaning groundstaff job. One evening after his day-long chores he is kicking about with kid brother Mel (also to play for Wales) in the local Cwmdu park, watched by a shrewd old talent scout who, suddenly, cannot believe his luck. John is spirited away to Leeds to be vetted by United's legendary mandarin-manager Major Frank Buckley. "By Jove," enthused Elland Road's Boer War veteran, "a natural two-footer who does the simple things easy and the difficult things even easier . . . Sign here, laddie."

"Thank you, sir," said Charles.

"Don't 'Sir' me, boy," snapped Buckley. "Even my wife and daughters address me as 'Major'."

Buckley was as original as he was eccentric. "Once, to get us to play more 'as one', he had us ballroom dancing together for a week. Another time, in a cold snap, he massaged us all with neat whisky before kick-off. We smelled appetising but lost 4-0, so it was never mentioned again."

By the time Charles had scored his 100th goal for Leeds, he had filled out to an awe-inspiring 6ft 3in and 14st. Arsenal offered £40,000 for him, Manchester United and Sunderland £50,000. Lazio of Rome matched the then breathtaking £65,000 of Juventus but the latter's better perks and a £10,000 signing-on fee for Charles clinched it.

His last Christmas Day match was against the top dogs Blackpool in 1956. Marking him was Jimmy Armfield (now BBC radio's eminence), who recalls: "It was snowing. We took four hours to get there. No motorway, winding via Burnley and Keighley. Ground white, ball orange, we lost 5-0. John headed two of them, easy as pie. I remember thinking 'flipping heck!' as he scored them, he was so dominantly big. As they hit the net I was still heading his chest. How utterly good he was, and no edges to him. He remains that big, amiable genius who came up from Swansea to sign for Leeds without even an overcoat to his name. A centre-half who never purposely fouled anyone in his life."

Italian soccer in the 1950s offered the world. The English League was still steeped in feudal aspic. After a hat-trick in the Cup a Leeds director slapped him on the back and said: "Go down to my garage, lad, and fill up you car, free, with petrol." Said Charles: "Don't be daft, sir, I don't have a car." He could afford a fleet of them at Juventus. First day in Turin, proudly, he bought a new Citroen. "Idiot, me," he says, "I hadn't twigged Juve's owner, the great Gianni Agnelli, was Fiat's magnate, and he had already set aside one of his gleaming new models for me. I felt a real clot."

Charles scored an astonishing 97 goals in 160 league matches, all the while strolling back to defend once he had scored them. In his five seasons Juventus won the league thrice and the cup twice. Glorioso! His partnership with the Argentine inside-forward Omar Sivori remains a legendary melody. "He was the best I played with: clever as a flea, mad as a hatter. All-time maestro I played against, of course, was Alfredo [Di Stefano], and after him come those two tiny British blighters I was meant to tower over: Charlie Wayman - fast, clever, always at you - and Belfast's quicksilver little Wilbur Cush."

Charles has only those memories. Typically the generous soul has given away all his trophies, medals and shirts. In today's memorabilia racket he could have made a fortune. I never saw him play in his prime, only in his Southern League dotage with Hereford in the early 1970s. I could not take my eyes off him . . . calm, skilful, chivalrous, a massive presence inspiring contentment and sheer enjoyment.

Compared with some who went before him, it is to the credit of Leeds's chairman Peter Ridsdale that he has officially acknowledged Thursday's birthday boy as the club's most valued former player. A couple of years ago the club published, in homage, a charming potted paperback monograph, King John by Richard Coomber, for which Michael Parkinson, who had watched the great man playing against Barnsley in the 1950s, wrote a touching foreword.

"If he'd been in the Barnsley team we'd have won every cup going . . . I'd never actually met John but in 1974 I was judging a Miss Britain contest in Stoke. Terrible job, but it was for charity! I was standing at the bar thinking 'what am I doing here?' when there was a tap on my shoulder. 'You don't know me. My name's John Charles.'

"I replied: 'Don't know you? Are you bloody mad? You're my hero.' He wasn't being affected. He was just being his modest self. A wonderful man."

Swansea City goalkeeper Roger Freestone has stated he wishes to stay around at the club despite its current financial problems.

Freestone and his Swans team-mates were told on Friday that they would not be paid at the end of this month. "I love playing for Swansea City," Freestone told BBC Radio Five Live.

Freestone said some of his team-mates would use the non-payment of wages as the incentive to secure a transfer to another club. "A lot of the players will be playing for themselves, trying to get a move somewhere," said Freestone.

"I'm not trying to get a move anywhere, especially at my age," added the 31-year-old keeper.

Exeter will be without skipper Chris Curran for their home match with Swansea on Boxing Day.

Curran is again ruled out by the calf injury that caused him to miss the 1-0 win at Mansfield Town.

Defender Graeme Power (groin) and striker Sean McCarthy (hamstring) will undergo late fitness tests as City bid to build on climbing to ninth in the table.

Meanwhile, Swansea midfielder Damien Lacey returns to manager Colin Addison's squad after serving a three-match suspension.

Kristian O'Leary is also available after completing a similar ban following his red card in the recent clash with Hartlepool.

Defender Neil Sharp, who produced a good performance during the win over Bristol Rovers, is likely to retain his place in the starting line-up.

Forward Jered Stirling is likely to be on the bench again as Mamady Sidibe and Steve Watkin continue to impress up front.

Lee Jenkins is still out with ankle ligament damage while Steve Healy is continuing his recovery after an operation on a hernia.

Midfielder Jason Smith will not feature until February after having surgery on his ankle.

Swansea City's long-suffering players have received another blow after being told that the club will not pay their wages this month.

Swansea skipper Nick Cusack, who is also the chairman of the Professional Footballers' Association, says that this is despite being given assurances last week that wages would be paid on time.

It is a double blow for manager Colin Addison and assistant Peter Nicholas.

They will miss out on their pay and have the task of trying to lift a demoralised squad for the Boxing Day match at Exeter.

"We were told that we wouldn't be getting paid at the end of the month," Cusack said.

"After having assurances last Thursday that we would definitely be paid, they are now turning round on Christmas Eve and saying that funding is not available to pay us."

Don Goss, a director at the club, broke the news to Cusack because owner Tony Petty has flown back to his Australian home for the holiday period

Petty, who took control of the club in October, has earned the wrath of staff, supporters and the PFA for cost-cutting measures.

This included the attempted sacking of seven of the playing staff, a move which was ruled in breach of contract by the PFA.

Petty has also had to fight a court battle for control of Swansea City FC from former director and player Mel Nurse, who acquired the club's outstanding debt from former owners Ninth Floor plc.

"I've had to ring the players now and explain the situation to them, and obviously they're devastated," Cusack added.

"It's a huge blow to everybody and that's the way they're treating the players, with such contempt. They deserve better than that."

Cusack also said that pension payments are a "number of months" late and that the PFA has had to step in and divert money from the central distribution fund, money that would normally be paid directly to the club, into the pensions.

According to Cusack, Petty had telephoned the PFA deputy chief executive, Brendan Batson, on Christmas Eve asking for a loan to meet the wages.

However, the Swans skipper points out that Petty had left it too late to contact the PFA if he realistically expected any help.

"We've got very important matches coming up," Cusack said. "We had a good win on Friday and this is really going to set the players back, set the club back."

SWANSEA City skipper Nick Cusack has called for a performance of pride and passion at Exeter on Boxing Day to bring some more Christmas cheer back to the Vetch Field club.

Cusack, 36 today, was a dominant figure in the 2-1 defeat of Bristol Rovers on Friday night and was delighted with the way the players performed against their lowly neighbours.

''I was really pleased with the commitment, '' he said.

''We knew we had to work hard and that's what everyone did. In the end we could have won more comfortably.

''But 2-1 is not a big win and there is no margin for error. All the players kept going right until the end and that was important.

''You have to earn the right to play attractive football and that starts on the training ground.

''Everybody has to want to win every tackle and every header. That's what happened against Bristol Rovers but we know it has to continue tomorrow.'' Exeter also had good win on Friday, securing a 1-0 away success at high-flying Mansfield.

The victory moved them up to eighth place, one off the play-off spots and Cusack knows the visit to St James's Park will not be an easy one, especially with former Swansea favourite John Cornforth in charge.

''They have had a good string of results in the league recently, '' said Cusack.

''Dagenham and Redbridge may have beaten them in the FA Cup but they have been playing well and there will some added extras about the game because of Corny (Cornforth).

''He will want his boys to do well and have them really up for it.

''It's really important that we get that commitment level up from the word go and keep it going for the whole 90 minutes.

''We have to play with passion and pride. We had a run last month and that was started with a 0-0 against Rushden and Diamonds.

''Maybe the draw against Carlisle will get us off on another run.'' Cusack added: ''John Cornforth is a friend of mine, but we have to take the points. John is a great character who has done well at Exeter.

''When he first went there they were in dire trouble and he has turned them around.

''But I think the game is winnable. Knowing John, his team will be full of industry but they will also have a little flair.

That is similar to the way we play so I think it will be a decent game.

''Hopefully we can involve the midfielders as we did against Bristol Rovers and then our strikers can stick the chances away as they did on Friday.

''But it's all about passion and commitment from the word go until the 90th minute.''

Former Swan Julian Alsop is delighted with his hot-streak in front of goal for Cheltenham after returning from an injury he suffered at Swansea.

Alsop left the Vetch the summer before last, but has been in top form this campaign for the West Country side. And his good run has come after he suffered concussion, ironically at the Vetch, when Cheltenham came and snatched a 2-2 draw in August.

The striker said: "It was an accidental clash of heads with Kris O'Leary and the doctor said if I'd had another knock it could have badly affected my eyesight.

"In the event I came back slightly sooner than anticipated, but the way the goals are going in I'm glad I did."

NEWPORT COUNTY will get another chance to tangle with Nationwide League opposition after being drawn against Swansea City in the quarter-finals of the FAW Premier Cup.

Tim Harris's team put up two sterling FA Cup performenaces against Blackpool before bowing out of the comptition

This tine they will meet Colin SAddison's Swans with genuine hopes of making it to the semi-finals in their first attempt at the competiotion.

Another intriguing tie thrown up by yesterday's draw sees LoW Newtown face big-spending Cardiff City at Latham Park.

The game should attract a bumper crowd for Newtown and a welcome boost to their coffers.

Caersws v Barry; Newport County v Swansea City; Newtown v Cardiff City; Carmarthen v Wrexham.

DEPARTING Swans star Matthew Bound last night admitted one of the reasons he had joined Oxford on loan was so he was guaranteed a pay packet at the end of the month.

Bound says he has loved his spell at The Vetch and didn't want to leave.

But the club clearly cannot afford his salary - reputed to be more than £2,000 a month - and have shifted him on to Oxford with a view to a £70,000 permanent deal.

"This move has got nothing to do with the management team of Colin Addison and Peter Nicholas, who I have the utmost respect for," said Bound.

"It is people above that - I can't put it any plainer.

"Obviously I still had the final say, but there was not really a lot of point in me remaining at Swansea, particularly as they couldn't guarantee my money at the end of the month.

"I want to make it clear we don't just care about money.

"But footballers are no different to other people inasmuch as we have mortgages to pay, bills to meet.

"If you miss out on a month's pay, or there is the threat of it, debts mount up."

Swans chairman Tony Petty is confident he will meet the players' wages at the end of December, but he has made the need for cost-cutting at The Vetch clear.

Losing players like Bound - and probably Sidibe too - will heighten worries about the Swans dipping into the Conference, although Friday night's win over Bristol Rovers put those fears on the backburner.

offloading their best players at every opportunity, obviously the danger of going down is there.

"But I look at the players, the team spirit, the way they have stuck together and I'm sure the side can pull through.

"It is vital the Swans maintain their Football League status. Just look at other sides who have gone down, like Chester and Scarborough.

"Far from coming straight back up, they're fighting to avoid relegation from the Conference.

"Provided people remain focused on the task in hand, I'm sure the team will pull through.

"It's just such a shame this has happened though. I have brilliant memories of my time there, winning the Division Three Championship, beating West Ham in the FA Cup.

"Yet since I've been there, it's never been particularly stable. The rumblings in the boardroom were bound to filter down to the playing side eventually."

SWANSEA City chief Peter Nicholas fears goalscoring ace Mamady Sidibe could be the next high-profile departure from the Vetch.

Top scorer Sidibe found the net again in Friday night's crucial 2-1 win over fellow Division Three relegation strugglers Bristol Rovers.

But Colin Addison's No2 Nicholas admitted afterwards that a glut of clubs were ready to pounce for Sidibe, heightening fears he could follow Stuart Roberts and Matthew Bound out of the door as chairman Tony Petty continues his cost-cutting exercise.

Already one £200,000 move to Barnsley has fallen through, but Nicholas admitted: "A number of clubs have expressed an interest in Mamady.

"Obviously we don't want to lose him, but we'll have to see what happens." Rovers' manager Garry Thompson said: "Clubs like ours and Swansea will always struggle to hold on to good players.

"Sidibe is very much a saleable asset."

Fears about Sidibe going will be magnified by the 2,700 gate at The Vetch on Friday. The club's break-even figure at the start of the season was said to be a 5,500 average attendance.

Hefty Inland Revenue and VAT bills still hover over Petty, while the wages have to be met for the month of December.

Sidibe's goalscoring exploits for the Swans could also land him an amazing international call-up after his homeland Mali announced they wanted the Vetch hitman for their coming African Nations Cup campaign.

Although he was brought up in France, Sidibe is originally from Mali, ranked 112th in the FIFA standings, and qualifies for them.

Mali are hosting the African Nations Cup and their FA have made it known that they are keen to include the 22-year- old Swans striker in their squad.

Their officials were alerted to Sidibe by BBC journalists working on a preview of the forthcoming tournament for Football Focus.

The competition begins on January 9 and runs until February 10.

Whatever happens with Sidibe, Swans manager Addison is hoping Friday night's win kick-starts his team's season and they begin climbing the Division Three table.

"It has been an absolute nightmare three months for Swansea City and Colin Addison, but that was more like a Colin Addison performance," declared Addison.

"So let's just hope that can be a springboard to take us on to better things.

"It was the best Christmas present for our staff and supporters that we could have come up with, and we thor-oughly deserved the win."

But Addison cautioned: "Let's not talk Mickey Mouse and dreamland. . . but can we come up with a similar performance at Exeter on Boxing Day to move into the top half?

"That's what I will be demanding."