BROMSGROVE Sporting boss Paul Smith has revealed he will step down from his position at the end of the season.
Smith took to social media to announce the news, stating it was with an ‘extremely heavy heart’ he would be standing down and would explain the full details behind his decision once the current Midland League Premier Division season ends.
The former Studley boss has had an eventful week after contract meetings on Tuesday night stalled, with the executive committee and Smith agreeing a contract was ‘not needed at the present time’.
In an initial statement released today (Friday), Smith said he wanted to put all the off-field problems to bed ‘once and for all’ to give his squad the ‘best chance’ of trying to win another league.
Having first started in non-League football 24 years ago, Smith said the last 12 months had been the ‘most challenging’ and it had come to the point where he felt ‘I had to give up’.
“I will go with the knowledge that for as long as I have been with the club, I have given it my all on and the off pitch,” he said.
“A record on the pitch second to none, efforts off it to boost the profile of the club and encourage you fans back, all this without any recompense.
“In a nutshell, I feel it’s paramount when working at a football club to do so with honesty, integrity and transparency.
“If I am working with people I feel haven’t the same mindset then there could be problems.
“The club is desperate for new investment, new ideas, and a clear and professional vision of how to go forward, then people with the correct skills to implement the strategies.
“There people are out there, these people want to come in. Unfortunately for reasons only known by a select few they are not being brought in.”
Smith added the final nail in the coffin was the outcome of Tuesday night’s executive committee meeting.
“If I could have recorded the meeting and played it to you all, you would have been totally gobsmacked, even more so after reading the latest releases and statements.”
Smith was also quick to praise the support he has received, stressing without it he would have stepped down from his position this week.
“The success on the pitch is masking over huge issues off it,” he said.
“I wanted to put this out there now to put it all to bed.
“We can all focus now on what’s important – that’s trying to win a league!
“I will continue to leave no stone unturned, continuing to put all the time, effort and money like I always have done, in our quest for a second successive promotion.
“You, our brilliant fans, deserve it.”
Chairman Mike Burke told the Standard he had received no official resignation from Smith but revealed a board meeting had been called for Monday night to discuss the matter further.
“It’s disappointing that Paul feels he needs to walk away from the club but the board and I have had no official resignation notice,” he said.
“I am also disappointed with some of the statements that have been made by Paul against the club and the board on social media.
“The board and volunteers work hard for this club and they do not deserve allegations thrown at them.
“The club has never been in a better position than it is now and hopefully things will change before the end of the season.
“We will have a board meeting on Monday night to discuss things further.”
