Grantham Town joint bosses Jimmy Albans and Wayne Hallcro tendered their resignations following the Gingerbreads’ 2-0 defeat at Ilkeston FC on Monday night.
Town’s board of directors officially announced the managerial duo’s three-year reign had come to an end in a press statement released on Tuesday.
Their departure comes just two weeks after Steve Boam stepped down as chairman of the club.
Hallcro and Albans led the Gingerbreads to promotion to the Northern Premier League with a championship-winning campaign last season.
Club chairman Peter Railton said he was very reluctant to have to accept the pair’s resignations. Mr Railton said that Hallcro and Albans had told him “they couldn’t take the club further forward with the [financial] restraints they have got.”
Mr Railton said: “Whilst being very disappointed to lose them, I do understand and respect their decision that the time has come for them to move on and would like to take this opportunity to thank them for all their hard work over the past three years or so, and also for all the enjoyment they have brought to the club.
“The championship flag proudly flying outside the ground is testament to their achievements. They will always be welcome here at Grantham.”
Speaking to the Journal, Hallcro said he and Jimmy Albans refused to get into a “mud-slinging match” with the club and said the pair had left on very good terms.
Hallcro acknowledged that a new budget had been mooted by the board of diretors, which would impose financial cuts.
He said: “We worked with Steve Boam for three years and felt we had a good relationship.We felt with the new chairman and financial constraints we weren’t going to be able to work as we had before.”
Hallcro said that the players sensed that something was not right, which was reflected in them not playing to their full potential.
Hallcro said: “We were given a budget at the start of the season and promised everyone what they would get. Deals are set at the beginning of the year.”
Hallcro took the opportunity to thank everyone involved with the club during his and Albans’s tenure: “Football-wise, there’s been no problem. Me and Jim feel we have been successful through everyone’s hard work at the club. But it’s the right time to progress. We feel we need to keep striving forward.”
Hallcro said he and Albans were keen to stay in football but, as yet, there was was nothing in the pipeline.”
Chairman Mr Railton said his and the board’s priority now was to appoint a new manager, and they have already spoken with “various applicants”.
He said Grantham under-16s manager Eddie Humphreys would be at the helm for Town’s game against Nantwich Town at The Meres tomorrow, with skipper Ben Saunders in charge of team selection.