Craig Edwards speaks out on his Kingstonian resignation

Craig Edwards shocked the Bostik League world- and particularly supporters of Kingstonian FC- when he tendered his resignation and left the club last week. Now, speaking directly to the -always excellent- Mid Kent Metals Isthmian Show, he has confirmed that his reason for leaving was down to budget cuts, and indeed that he should have jumped ship sooner.

Edwards, who took over towards the end of last season with the K's in serious danger of relegation, and managed to lead them from danger, stated that there had already been a budget cut in pre-season- but then the board decided that there needed to be a further cut:

"One month into the season, we beat Tonbridge (Angels- 30th September) and I have to go and tell the players there has been another budget cut. We'd turned them from a bottom four side to a top four side and they (the board) didn't really give me a reason. I can't believe that they got their budget projections so wrong...all I can surmise, because I didn't get any answers, is that because of the restructure (of the league) with one going down, we obviously weren't going down, so they've cut it. Perhaps it was the fear of us being in the playoff's and being in a position where we might go up, and they're not in a position to do that? If they'd have told me- and I've told them this- that they were going to cut the budget one month into the season, I'd never have agreed to stay."

Edwards added:

"I should have gone then, after the Tonbridge game. I lost all my enthusiasm, and the players responded on the pitch how I felt off it."

Listen to the entire interview here- Edwards begins talking about his decision approximately one hour in.

Kingstonian are scheduled to release a statement on the matter shortly, after many questions from supporters. Last week they explained:

'The club's Board will be answering these questions and will inform supporters of other facts; this will be done early this coming week.

The reason for the short delay has been not only for the Board and the club's staff to make sure that our players were as ready as possible for the match at Lowestoft Town but also to deal with applications for the post of first team manager: interviews will take place early this coming week with the hope that the post will be filled in time for the club's next game. However, we will not be rushing this task and we are again grateful to Kim Harris, who has agreed to take the team for that game if necessary.

The Board appreciates the concerns raised by supporters regarding this situation, the ground status, marketing, etc., and will address those concerns with the upcoming statement.

The Mid Kent Metals Isthmian Show is broadcast live via social media every week. Please follow them on Twitter for more details:

Isthmian Podcast

Image via kingstonian.com