LAVERSTOCK and Ford ended their tough campaign with a comprehensive 4-2 win on the road at Totton and Eling, which gave joint manager Robbie Lakeman the send off he deserved as he bowed out of management after five years at the helm.

Lavvy got off to a flyer and were 2-0 up inside 10 minutes. Russ Jones finished inside two minutes and when Max Allen scored from 20 yard tit looked like the visitors would run riot.

That should have been the case, but they missed a number of chances, before Danny Finnigan all but sealed the win a minute before half-time with a close range header.

Totton improved after the break and scored within a minute of the restart.

Despite further pressure from the home side Lavvy stood strong and a late goal from sub Richie Horton made the result safe. There was still time for Totton to score bundling the ball over with the last kick of the game.

Joint manager Liam McConnell paid tribute to the retiring Lakeman and said: "Despite the disappointment of not fulfilling the potential this side has by not gaining promotion over the past couple of years.

"The steps the club has made are clear to see. Robbie has been integral to that. He came in to the club five years ago and started to turn their fortunes around and looking back he's been behind the progression we've made, I've certainly enjoyed the past three years working with him!

He added: "We've tried to convince him to stay on but he's done now and you could see the lads were so committed to winning for him tonight. Of course, we are all disappointed we couldn't maintain the form we had.

Whilst Robbie steps down, Liam will continue as manager with Graham Mankin the clubs former skipper joining him as his assistant manager. In regard to the appointment of Mankin.

Club Secretary Matt McMahon said:"Graham is seen as a natural progression into a management role. Everyone knows what experience Graham brings to this standard of football, his playing days across both Wessex Leagues spans over 10 years. He loves the club, he's a winner and has a passion for getting the best out of the players, we look forward to seeing him progress his management career with us."