Matt Hume quits Rochester United eight winless games into the season

STRUGGLING Rochester United begin the search for a new manager after Matt Hume resigned on Saturday evening owing to results on the pitch and his business commitments.

The Rede Court outfit are struggling at the foot of the Southern Counties East Football League Premier Division table with two points on the board from their opening five league games.

“It is with regret that Matt Hume handed in his resignation to the club on Saturday evening at around 8pm, after me and the chairman trying to talk him out of it for sometime, said club president Bernard Hurst.

“The reason for him resigning is due to the pressure on his growing business and pressure on him (due to recent results) on the managing side.

“Matt has been with the club for some years as a player and manager. He has agreed to stay on until a replacement is made but has no intentions of leaving the club and will stay on as part of the club committee.

“I must make it quite clear that this was a decision made by Matt himself and had no influence from the club whatsoever.”

The club suffered early exits in both The FA Cup and The FA Vase, going out of both competitions at the first hurdle.

They began their campaign with a 1-1 draw at home to Erith Town in The FA Cup extra preliminary round, before crashing to a 5-0 defeat in the replay in their third game of the season.

The Spartans suffered a 5-2 home defeat to Lancing in The FA Vase first qualifying round at the weekend.

Rochester United invite applications for the managerial vacancy and interested parties should contact club secretary Tony Wheeler by email: tony.wheelerrufc@yahoo.co.uk.

Article published: 17:20 – Monday 11 September 2017
Article updated: 19:40 - Monday 11 September 2017