After taking Paulton Rovers gloriously into the Evostik Southern Premier League last season, Manager, Nick Bunyard, has announced that he has resigned from the club. This announcement follows the departure of long-standing goalkeeper, Kyle Phillips, Assistant Manager, Paul Milsom, and Player-Coach, Josh Jeffries. Whilst Bunyard has said he was considering leaving the club last Christmas to spend more time with his family, there have also been comments in the local press about wider club issues, such as players having to pay fines from their wages.

A spokesperson for Paulton Rovers said this week: "Nick Bunyard assured Dave Bissex (Chairman) he was resigning as Manager of Paulton Rovers because of the time away from his young family and did not cite any other reason.

"The club is very grateful to Nick and his management team for the success he brought during his tenure in charge, notably last season's promotion into the Evostik Southern Premier League and a fantastic tenth-placed finish this season.

"The Club Treasurer is still awaiting the players' timesheet list for the final week of the season, but (along with quite a few other local clubs), it is anticipated the Football Association will, in due course, be notifying the club regarding the total disciplinary points accumulated by the players for the season. This is likely to result in a substantial fine by the FA.

"The club is particularly concerned about discipline, especially those yellow and red cards caused by dissent.

"Once the final wages list is received and the amount of the fine is known, then, of course, any remaining balance will be paid to the players, less, of course, PAYE and National Insurance.

"Any new Manager will be in charge of any player recruitment policy. There will be players who will move on for various reasons, but certainly the club would wish to see a number of players retained, as well as a number of new faces for the new season."

As The Journal went to press, Paulton Rovers announced on Tuesday that Bunyard's replacement will be Richard Fey, ex-Bridgwater Town Manager. Nathan Rudge, also previously from Bridgwater, has been named as his Assistant.