Walton Casuals chairman Tony Gale was choked that his team succumbed to relegation from Ryman Division One South at the weekend, but he insisted they will not be throwing money at an immediate return.
A 1-0 defeat at Merstham on Saturday condemned Casuals to the table’s bottom spot, and a likely drop into the Combined Counties League. Casuals’ destination is due to be announced on May 8.
Gale said: “In a league where only the bottom team goes down we should have not been relegated.
“But we had a terrible start under Mick [Sullivan]. We were knocked out of both cup competitions and everyone knows how important a cup run is in terms of funds and confidence.
“Then we had a shocking run of 12 games without a win, and I have been in the game long enough to know that when you have a run of bad form that long, you are always going to struggle.”
The former West Ham United defender added: “I was pleased with Danny [Carroll] and Anthony [Gale] when they came in, but it was too late really.
Popular: Danny Carroll left in March citing work commitments
“If they had been with us from the start, things would have been different.”
Whether Anthony Gale, who came in on a temporary basis when Carroll resigned in March, is given the manager role full-time is undecided.
However, whoever gets the top job will have the club’s board watching everything they do.
Chairman Gale said: “Last season we had 98 players registered with the club, which is absolutely ludicrous.
“We’ll be making decisions on managers when we know where we’re playing next season, but as a board we will be all over him and it.
“Non-league managers need some supervision – there is no way we can have another 98 players registered.”
He added: “But we won’t be throwing money at an immediate return. The most important thing is that we have a club. It’s the club that matters above all else.
“We will be back at some stage, but gone are the days of getting players by offering them a few extra quid.
“We want players from the local area, we want the club to be part of the community, and we want to make sure it survives, which it will.”
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