Basildon United have had better weekends – first they lost the league leadership, then they lost their manager!
The Essex club enjoyed a storming start to their first season at Step 4, winning their opening seven matches to take a huge stranglehold on the Bostik North division.
But a recent blip, culminating in a 4-0 defeat to county rivals Bowers & Pitsea on Saturday, saw them slip back into second place with their opponents leapfrogging them to the top.
And it all proved too much for manager Marc Harrison, who just months after leading the club to promotion from the Essex Senior League, resigned with immediate effect.
Reflecting on Saturday's defeat, 24 hours before resigning, Harrison told the Basildon Echo: “It was men against boys and they [Bowers & Pitsea] deserved the win. They were excellent and we were very poor.
“In a derby game, or any game for that matter, you look for charisma and the basic standards. If you do not reach those standards, then that sort of defeat is what will happen.
“Bowers are brilliant and so well organised, so I can't argue with the result.
“I have taken the performance personally and there are many people out there who I would liked to have made proud.
“But, instead, we let a lot of people down and that is very disappointing.”
A club statement confirmed: “Marc Harrison has resigned as first team manager with immediate effect. The club records it's sincere thanks to Marc and his team for their hard work in a momentous period of the club's history and wishes them well for the future.
“David Maxwell will be stepping into the role of Joint Chairman with Lee Connor, who will oversee team affairs until a new manager is appointed.”
