I feel the time is right for a fresh voice and a fresh change, says mentally drained and tired Adam Woodward, who steps down as Erith Town manager after eight years in charge

ERITH TOWN manager Adam Woodward has stepped down from the role minutes after Saturday’s 2-0 home defeat to Crowborough Athletic.

The Dockers’ go into Christmas sitting inside the Isthmian League South East Division relegation zone, fourth-from-bottom, having picked up 20 points (four wins, eight draws and 11 defeats), three points adrift of Hassocks.

VCD Athletic – who arrive at Bayliss Avenue on 3 January in the club’s next outing – are beneath them in the table with 19 points from 23 games, Beckenham Town (17 points from 24 games) and East Grinstead Town (four points from 22 games) are also in the eighth-tier relegation zone.

Woodward told www.kentishfootball.co.uk following their 1-1 draw at fellow strugglers Beckenham Town on Tuesday 2 December that he was considering stepping down.

“Look, people can have their opinions,” said Woodward, within the boardroom at Eden Park Avenue, on a rain lashed night.

“Am I under pressure? Most probably am. Ok and I don’t hide from that fact.  I’m not silly to understand that but I have a good relationship with the chairman and the owner Mark Deveney, fantastic relationship with him and I’m quite open.

“If I feel like I’m not doing the correct job and it needs a new voice, I’ll happily step down, there’s no issue. I’ve been here long enough to understand that.

“I want what’s best for the football club. This is not a football club that I take lightly. I live, breath and die Erith Town Football Club. I protect this football club and when I feel like I can’t do any more, I’ll quite happily step aside and allow somebody else to do it.”

Woodward, who was appointed Erith Town manager in May 2017, having claimed promotion out of the Southern Counties East Football League First Division in his only season in charge of Glebe, decided to follow up his warning after Saturday’s defeat to Sean Muggeridge’s side at Bayliss Avenue.

“I’m going to step down as manager. I feel it’s the right timing,” said a club statement.

“I feel that the intensity that I work at, I’ve been here what seven or eight years now and I feel like it needs a little bit of a change.  There’s no harm in admitting that I’m not getting the best out of the players.

“Results haven’t been great and I think today I’m looking across and I’m seeing my right-back getting injured, while I’m patching him up someone scores from his position, then my goalkeeper (Harrison Firth) takes a whack and I’m putting a centre-half (Calum McGeehan) in goal and I’m looking at it now and thinking when your times up, I think your times up.

“I think the time is now for a fresh voice and a fresh change.

“I still look to the day I took over, we opened up a container with three footballers in it. We’ve gone from having one team to now having, what 16-17 youth teams.  We’ve got a great pathway. We’ve got great facilities.  We’ve just signed a 10-year lease for at the back at Crossways.  The club is growing and the club is a fantastic club to be around.

“But I don’t feel at the moment for us wanting to stay in the League, we need a different voice, a different change.

“I’m mentally drained and tired. There’s no ifs, buts about it. I’ve also have a young family that I am taking my attention off and a wife that is so supportive but I feel like I owe them some time now.

“I’m up at four o’clock in the morning watching games on Crowborough.  Jersey last week I’m watching games on Crowborough after the game.

“I feel like I’m not getting a tune out of the players and that happens in football. There’s been some great managers over time that have stepped down from roles for the same reasons.

“I think the club is in a great position and at the moment in time I feel like this is the right time for someone to come and fresh it up.

“Look, it’s only one win away from being in a good position but I just feel like, like I said, I’ve discussed with the owner Mark, this conversation has been going on for the last month or so and I feel like now is the time.

“I’ve been thinking about it for a month or so. The club’s growing and we need people off the pitch to help it grow and I feel like I can support it off the pitch in anyway possible.

“I’m not going away but it needs a new person in the changing room and I know that and I’m big enough to know that.

“I need a rest. I need a re-charge. Like I said, it’s a fantastic football club, great owners, great volunteers, great fans and it’s only going to get better but I feel like I’m not the person at the moment to do that.

“I haven’t spoken to the owner what the next process is.

“It’s been fantastic. Moments will live long in the day with me. The year we went up was fantastic, the two cups that we won. Erith Town weren’t meant to do that but it was done through hard work and passion and desire and I came to this football club a single man and I’ve left the football club married with two children, so it’s been a journey but I feel like now I owe my time to my children and my wife.”

Erith Town celebrated winning promotion into the Isthmian League South East Division for the first time, after beating Michael Golding’s Corinthian on penalties in Southern Counties East Football League Premier Division Play-Off Final on 6 May 2024.

The Dockers also celebrated winning the Challenge Cup against the same opposition, as well as beating First Division side Croydon to win the Kent Senior Trophy, as Woodward led Erith Town to their best ever campaign.

Erith Town finished their maiden campaign in the Isthmian League in fourteenth-place but are currently suffering Second Season Syndrome and the club have 19 games to avoid relegation, starting with a relegation six-pointer against VCD Athletic, who play host to 12^th placed Deal Town on Saturday.

The club have today appointed senior players Calum McGeehan and Aaron Jeffery as interim-manager's, ahead of the local derby against fellow strugglers VCD Athletic on Saturday 3 January 2026.

The club are inviting applications for the vacancy, with the closing date being Wednesday 24 December.

If you are interested, please send your coaching CV and a short statement to Info@erithtown.com.

“This is an exciting opportunity to continue to shape the future of our club and drive performance both on and off the pitch,” said the Thamesmead based outfit.

Visit Erith Town’s website: www.erithtown.com