St Albans City will speak to striker John Frendo later this week and discuss why he ruled himself out of Saturday’s FA Cup defeat to Concord Rangers.

Frendo, the Saints top scorer last season, was a notable absentee as Graham Golds and James Gray’s side slipped to a narrow 1-0 defeat at home to Concord in the fourth qualifying round. 

Why the 30-year-old missed the game has yet to be confirmed. The Saint Albans Review contacted City chairman Nick Archer this afternoon but he was unwilling to discuss the reason for Frendo's absence.

The Saints have released a statement which read: “The club acknowledges the public interest in John Frendo and his absence from our team against Concord Rangers last Saturday.

“We advise that we are scheduled to discuss matters with John, who is expected at first team training later this week.

“No further comment will be made in the meanwhile.

“The club takes this opportunity to wish Concord Rangers success going forward in the competition.”

Speaking this morning, Golds said that Frendo missing the tie would have been a boost for Concord.

He explained: “John made himself unavailable for the game, he told us that. So that may have given Concord a psychological lift and perhaps knocked us a tiny bit.

“We play with one striker and that is usually John. He is very important to what we do and how we play. He brings other players into play and leads the line.

“Clarky (Lee Clarke) came in and did well but he doesn’t occupy the centre-halves in the same way as John.”

He added: “Everyone around the club is disappointed with the result. It’s not just this round’s prize money that we miss out on, it’s the fact that if you get a big tie in the next round then the club can make a serious amount of money, especially if the game is chosen for TV.”

Joint-manager Gray hinted after Saturday’s game that the absent Frendo will have some explaining to do when he returns to Clarence Park.

‘He let me down, he let the boys down. He is a talisman and will have given Concord a big boost to have seen the team sheet and see that he’s not on it,’ Gray added.