the club's new cricket coach, Southampton Rangers have plunged deeper into controversy with the suspension of sports chairman Randy Raynor.

Raynor was handed a one-year suspension following what he termed "a kangaroo court hearing'' on Monday night.

A television report noted that Raynor had been reprimanded for coercing players to leave the club, but it has been revealed to The Royal Gazette that this was just one of three charges Raynor was found guilty of in absentia.

The remainder were that he had "removed club property'' and was "boisterous to the club secretary''.

Last night, an irate Raynor denied all but one of the charges, admitting that he "blew it'' at club secretary Anthony Santucci, because he "was hyped and mad because of the current situation at the club''.

"I never even got a chance to counter the charges laid against me,'' explained Raynor, once a fearsome fast bowler at Rangers as well as in Cup Match for Somerset.

"The TV said that I coerced six players to leave, well I'd like them to prove that. They just have hearsay evidence.

"...and the cricket balls they say I took home never left the grounds.

"I've played for Rangers since I was 12 years old. My heart is at Rangers.

I've never accepted any money and have always volunteered my services at the club while some sit there and collect money for doing nothing.

"I'm not here to destroy Rangers, but I want them to be honest. I want the club to give me a chance to speak on my own behalf and say what I have to say.'' The current turmoil at the South Shore club threatens to derail the team's build-up toward the 1994 cricket season.

Raynor's ouster as sports chairman, which follows his stepping down as coach due to work commitments -- creates another gap management will have to fill and with him seen as the voice of the players could cause further disenchantment.

Many are still seething over the coaching situation and the perceived blase attitude of the club hierarchy toward them.

At the crux of the matter is the recent appointment of Lee Raynor as coach over the players' choice of Ricky Brangman, an assistant last year.

Many are said to have refused to train under Lee Raynor, some threatening to leave or sit out the season altogether.

Meanwhile, earlier in the day, club president Wayne Raynor said that the status of Lee Raynor was "still the same'' while deferring comment on his brother's suspension.