Welling United boss Rod Stringer has spoken of the decision to part ways with Assistant Manager Kevin Watson as the Wings look towards a push for survival with 11 games left to play.

With his side sitting precariously above the drop zone, Stringer is fully intent on ensuring the club will be plying their trade in step two next season and admitted that some difficult decisions have had to be made in a bid to change the team’s fortunes with the run-in approaching.

Reflecting on the decision to end his partnership with Watson, Stringer said:

“It’s been a tough season and, unfortunately, it’s not gone to plan. I’ve had to look at the situation.

“Obviously, I appreciate everything Kevin has done for us and it wasn’t an easy decision to make, but I felt we needed a change with the coaching side of things.

“We need a change to push forward. We are in a precarious position in the league and now in a similar position to the one we found ourselves in when we came in last season, so it was time to change things up.”

“I know that there is some frustration and that a decision like this may not sit well with supporters”, he continued.

“I totally understand that. I’m not laying any blame on Kev for where we are – we were a partnership, we worked together, but there were times when we didn’t always agree on some of the decisions that we went with throughout the season.

“I feel it’s now time to bring in a different type of coach.

“We have 11 games to go, we have to be at our best and we have to be organised.

“I was very disappointed with how we were on Tuesday night. We didn’t look like we had the structure that we did at the start of the season.

“As a result, we’ve decided to go our separate ways with Kevin and we’ll be looking to bring in a new coach who will, hopefully, bring in some new ideas and, hopefully, make us a bit stronger, with and without the ball.

“It’s not a decision that was taken lightly and I don’t want supporters to feel as if I’ve put this down to Kevin, because we both have to take responsibility as a partnership. But in the situation we’re in, we just now have to go with something different.

“I’ve had to make a big decision, which is something all managers have to do, but we’d like to wish Kevin well and thank him for his work while he was with us.”

Reflecting on the task ahead, Stringer emphasised that all hands will be to the pump when it comes to Welling’s bid to beat the drop, with an approach put in place to ensure the Wings keep their heads above the bottom four.

“We had fantastic season last year,” he explained.

“We hit the ground running, we bought in some really good loans and got the boys playing for us. I don’t want to waste what we had last year with keeping this club at step two, so I’ve made a decision based on the fact I didn’t believe we’d get out of it carrying on as we were.

“I’m doing everything within my power, along with the players and the staff, to keep this club in this division. We now need to look to see what we can achieve moving forward and that starts with Slough at home on Saturday.

“We know some performances have been unacceptable. For me, it’s about us looking at the rest of this season as a ‘mini-league’. What will show at the end of the season is that only the strong survive.”

Stringer added: “The supporters want to see a better brand of football and I totally understand that – that’s something we haven’t given you this year – we need to be better in certain aspects of the game and the players will now know their jobs and, like all teams fighting at this stage of the season, go out there and wear that badge with pride.”

A new Assistant Manager will be confirmed in due course and will be in place ahead of Saturday’s meeting with Slough Town at Park View Road.

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