Last week it was announced that Aslan Odev had left his position as Sittingbourne manager, his assistant Ian Varley left at the same time.

Varley was well known to Sittingbourne fans when he was appointed as assistant manager as he was a former player at the club, and no one was more disappointed that it didn’t work out for them.

Speaking to Kent Sports News, about his disappointment, Ian said: “Especially after how we finished the previous season and started this season but unfortunately the last couple of months haven’t gone to plan at all which is obviously disappointing. 

“It’s a tough league and when you get in a bad run it can be very hard to turn around. We’ve tried numerous different things and apart from the result against Sevenoaks it’s been a real struggle of late. That’s just football and now it’s up to someone else to give it a go.”

After the heavy defeat to Hastings United the weekend previous both Aslan and Ian decided that the time was right for someone else to take the club forward.

Ian added: “Aslan rang me after training on Tuesday to say he had spoken to the board and they’d mutually agreed to part ways, so for me the decision was easy to make and I left as well.

“If you’re a proper assistant manager and the manager leaves for whatever reason then so should the assistant. As far as I’m concerned I’ve got to take the blame as well for us being in the position we are. Aslan has let me have plenty of input and we worked well together so it’s a no brainer for me to move on as well.”

We asked Ian what his time was like as assistant manager at Sittingbourne and whether he enjoyed working with Aslan.

He said: “I thoroughly enjoyed it and we worked well together. He added a lot of things to the club in terms of analysis, nutrition, better training venues, building relationships with bigger locals clubs and overall just trying to make it more professional which he did.

“Unfortunately some of the players let him down in the end which is a shame as the season promised so much.”

Finally we asked Ian what was next for him, but one thing was clear he is still hungry to be involved in football and to get back involved with a club.

He added: “I’m keen to get back in as soon as possible, whatever role that might be.”