STEVE Riley admitted he was looking forward to his new-found freedom after agreeing an amicable divorce with AFC Totton.

After almost three years at the Testwood Stadium helm, Riley and his right-hand man Chris Ferrett are moving on, leaving goalkeeping coach Steve Hollick with temporary custody of the team until a permanent successor is found.

When ex-Bashley boss Riley agreed to fill the shoes of Totton’s most successful ever manager, Stuart Ritchie, three summers ago, he could have had no idea what he was letting himself in for.

Unbeknown to him, the club’s old regime were spending beyond their means, eventually resulting in the team going unpaid and a mass player exodus the following summer.

With the crisis-hit Stags up to their eyes in debt, Riley started last season under a transfer embargo and fought a losing battle to keep a young, inexperienced side in the Southern Premier Division.

Since the sale of the Testwood Stadium last summer, Totton have been on a more even keel financially but, despite a strong start to the season and a run of five straights wins at the turn of the year, results have been going backwards of late with Saturday’s 2-0 home defeat by Mangotsfield United making it eight losses and a draw in their last nine league games.

Despite creating a wealth of first-half chances, the Stags trailed to a 21st-minute Steve Davies strike at half-time and slipped further into arrears on 69 minutes when Matt Groves steered home the Mangos’ second.

Following midweek talks with chairman Andy Straker and committee man Roy Edwards who, between them, have nursed the ailing Stags back to health, Riley had agreed that Saturday would be his final game.

He made club stalwart Nathaniel Sherborne captain for the day as a thank you for his loyalty throughout three difficult years and later spoke of his need for a fresh challenge.

“Chris (Ferrett) and I first spoke about this at Christmas-time. Our job was to consolidate and last weekend confirmed we were mathematically safe from relegation,” Riley explained.

“February/March-time is when you plan ahead for next season and when we sat down with the chairman this week we were both of the opinion that we needed a break from each other.

“The club needs someone else to come in and have a go.

“It’s been tough with everything that’s happened. We brought in roughly £25,000-£30,000 in FA Cup/Trophy winnings in the first season, but then went four months without pay and last season we could only have 16 players to start with until the transfer embargo was lifted.

“There’s no sour grapes, no animosity. Andy (Straker) deserves credit for what he’s doing here. He’s not going to let the football club get back into financial difficulty and is cutting his cloth accordingly.

“I wish the boys and the club the best of luck for the remainder of the season.

“I’ve been in football for 26 years and I’m looking forward to having some free time and doing something new.”

Acknowledging the need for a “fresh start” for both parties, chairman Straker said: “We haven’t sacked Steve. We had discussions on how we saw the club going forward and agreed it was best for both parties to go our separate ways.

“Performances have not been great lately and we felt it was time to strengthen where we need to now and give it a go for next season.”

Totton are not yet advertising the job, but Straker said: “I’ve no doubt people will approach us.

“We’ve asked Steve Hollick to stay and he’ll manage the team for us at Yate on Saturday and for the foreseeable future.

“We know where we’re going and what we want to do and we’ll set our own pace.

“We haven’t yet resolved what our budget is for next season, but we’ll do things the right way. I’m never going to promise stuff that isn’t going to happen.”

AFC Totton: Steve Mowthorpe, Liam Hibberd, Jamie Blackburn, Stuart Mott, Rob Flooks (Ellis White, 76), Liam Gilbert, Taylor Edwards (Zac Mouland, 46), Nathan Hurst, Craig Feeney (Jack Hoey, 70), Nathaniel Sherborne, Mike Gosney. Subs (not used) Joe Maxwell, Jake Rawkins.

Referee: Adrian Tranter

Attendance: 255