Hythe Town manager Steve Watt speaks about his decision to leave at the end of the season

Steve Watt is stepping down as Hythe manager at the end of the season.

Watt has been considering his future for a couple of months and feels it’s time for a new challenge.

He informed chairman Gary Johnson after the Cannons’ Easter Monday match at Sheppey.

The 3-0 loss was their fifth successive defeat in Isthmian South East, leaving them 12th in the table, but Watt’s decision has nothing to do with recent results.

“We could have got to the play-off final and I would still have made this decision,” said Watt.

“I’ve had boys apologising to me, feeling it’s their fault, but they’ve nothing to apologise for.

“What they’ve put their bodies through for me is incredible.

“I told Gary I’d had something on my mind for a while, a good couple of months.

“You’ve got to ask yourself sometimes how much more can you do?

“We were so close to going up last year and I felt if I could add a couple more bits of quality, which I have done, then it could make the difference.

“That was my reason for staying last year, because I nearly went after last season’s play-off final.

“It’s been a tough year, with all the postponements and playing catch-up and things going on.

“A couple of months ago you start thinking about next season and I thought is it time for a change?

“I could have waited until the end of the season and made the decision then but I didn’t think it was fair on the club.

“I wanted to give them as much time as possible to get the right person in.

“I was always going to make a decision before the end of the season and let the club know as soon as I knew.

“As a manager you want to start preparing for next year and if I’m not going to be there, I need to let the club know.

“People forget I’ve been here five years on and off.

“When I