Steven Watt parts company with Hythe Town after promised funds fail to materialise

HYTHE TOWN have confirmed the departure of their manager Steven Watt tonight.

“The club’s directors would like to take this opportunity to thank Steve for all his efforts during his time with us,” said a club statement.

“The parting is a wholly amicable one and we wish him every success in the future.

“In the interim, assistant manager Nathan Elder and player-coach Frannie Collin are taking the reins for Saturday’s match at home to Whitstable Town and are in on-going discussions with the board.

“The changes have arisen due to the financial pressures that currently face the club as per our previous statement and these largely stem from the fact that promised funds have not materialised.

“The directors all of whom are volunteers are working as hard as possible to address the current financial predicament and to put the club once more on a firm footing so that we can move forwards.”

The Cannons are currently sitting in eleventh-place in the Isthmian League South East Division table with five wins and two draws from their 12 league games.

Keith McMahon brings his Whitstable Town side to Reachfields Stadium on Saturday sitting in second-from-bottom in the table, with five points on the board from their opening 13 games.

Aberdeen-born Watt, 36, has previously managed Margate and his adopted home-town club Maidstone United (caretaker).

He played once in the Premier League for Chelsea under Jose Mourhino, before going on to play for Barnsley (loan), Swansea City, Inverness Caledonian Thistle, Ross County and Grimsby Town.

The centre-half then dropped down into non-league football and played for Dover Athletic, Maidstone United, Hemel Hempstead Town, Hastings United and Leatherhead.

After losing 3-0 at home to Hastings United in their last home game on Tuesday 19 October, Hythe Town have played five games away from home.

The Cannons drew Chichester City 1-1, before suffering a 4-0 defeat at leaders Cray Valley, before bouncing back to beat Faversham Town 2-1, but lost 4-0 at Ashford United on 6 November, but claimed a 1-0 win over high-flying Haywards Heath Town at the weekend, in what turned out to be Watt's last game in charge of the Reachfields Stadium outfit.

Visit Hythe Town’s website: www.hythetownfc.co.uk