Perform or its hard labour!

Prague - Banik Ostrava coach Radomir Korytar has hit on a novel way of penalising his players for a run of poor performances -- sentencing them to a spell of hard labour.

With Banik propping up the Czech top-flight, Korytar has taken drastic action in a bid to turn the club's fortunes around.

Equipped with hoes, rakes, spades and saws, the players gather at 06h45 every morning to work on improving the look of their training centre.

Korytar said the players would at least know "what they are in for if they don't do their jobs properly".

"There are some who have accepted it with good humour, but others grumble, for instance (Brazilian midfielder) Dyjan Carlos de Azevedo has complained that his arms hurt," he told the Sport daily.

"They will keep working until Friday, I hope they will realise what a great life they have as football players," said Korytar, adding the players still had their usual two training sessions a day.

Banik have picked up a single point from five league games this season, but the last straw, as far as Korytar was concerned, was last week's humiliating 4-3 defeat in the cup to fourth division Rymarov.

"The work programme seeks to boost team spirit and mobilise all our forces for a recovery," the club, which has won four national titles,, said in a statement.