Crossword Genius

Crafty group of overseas footballers admit whole bunch is not in good shape (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

flotilla

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'crafty group' is the definition.
'flotilla' can be an answer for 'group' (flotilla is a kind of group). I am not certain of the 'crafty' bit.

'overseas footballers admit whole bunch is not in good shape' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'bunch' could be 'lot' ('lot' can be a synonym of 'bunch') and 'lot' is found within the answer.
This may be the basis of clue (or it may be nonsense).

'of' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for flotilla that I've seen before include "Fleet of small ships" , "set of boats" , "A lot of craft" , "Fleet of small craft" , "Group of small craft" .)

I've seen this clue in the Irish Times and the Irish Times (Crosaire).
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