THE phony war is over; after 15 years in the green shirt of Wycombe, Kieran Mann will line up against his old pals tomorrow wearing Marlow blue.

Wycombe wished him well when he announced the switch two weeks ago but now, on the eve of derby day, the mood has turned decidedly frosty.

Mann says he was blanked' by some club members after watching Wycs play last Saturday, and now director of rugby Dave Rutherford has unleashed a double-barrelled diatribe at his former talisman.

Rutherford said: "I am irritated he left us for Marlow, and particularly the timing of it.

"I don't know what he thinks he will achieve. But he's an individual.

"There is no limit to his talent but he's got an ego. Yes, he can be a match-winner for you, but he can also be a match-loser and I think we'll be a better team without him."

Mann, who made use of Marlow's weekend off to watch Wycombe beat Ealing 19-5 in a friendly, did not take it lying down.

He said: "He's entitled to say what he wants. He can't fire me up for this game more than I am already.

"As soon as our game finished two weeks ago I was looking forward to it.

"Yes, Marlow need the win, but from an individual perspective I would love to get one over them."

Although Marlow beat Wycombe in the delayed Bucks Cup Final in September, Rutherford's side thrashed them 34-3 in a league game a month later and then ended their short-lived reign as Bucks champions in an equally one-sided 33-5 victory at Riverwoods Drive in December.

Rutherford said: "You do worry about Marlow because they have a good game in them and seem to pull out a result when they need to, but if we play with our heads and not our hearts then they can't beat us.

"We might beat ourselves, but if we play as well as we can do then they won't beat us.

"We didn't have a full squad when we lost the cup final, but we've played them off the park twice since then and I hope my players remember that."

Wycombe have not won in the league since the first week of November and have been sucked back into a relegation scrap, but the predicament for bottom-of-the-table Marlow is even more dire.

Mann said: "If Wycombe had the injuries Marlow had at the start of the season they would have no points.

"They've got no depth at all and have survived for many years on the back of a few players. They are an old team and will find that out in the next few seasons.

"But they do have an advantage over us up front. Our backs are more talented but it's just going to be a case of how much ball we get.

"I won't have a sleepless night on Friday, but if we lose this we're virtually down so I'll be more nervous for this game than a Bucks Cup Final - this is more important."

Rutherford said: "No-one gets relegated on Saturday, but we put a huge nail in their coffin if we beat them.

"And there is a bit of extra history to this game with Mr Mann. There is no need to say any more."