Sheppey United manager Geoff Record will retire after the game against Sevenoaks Town this weekend with Kevin Watson taking over after this season ends

Geoff Record takes charge of Sheppey United for one last time this Saturday and is glad to have fulfilled the wishes of the legend he replaced.

Ernie Batten led them to back-to-back seventh placed finishes in his two full seasons in the Isthmian South East and they’ve once again been knocking on the door of the promotion race this term.

When Batten’s health worsened, Record took over as manager and they head into their final game of the season with a top-10 finish assured and seventh place once again within their grasp.

It’s “job done” as far as Record is concerned, as he bows out 45 years after his first association with his home club.

Record said: “When Ernie was unwell, I would ask him, ‘What are you doing next week then?’ It got to the point where I think he had enough of me asking and he said, ‘You don’t need to ask me if I’m doing it - I’ll tell you if I’m not doing it’!

“Before he did step back I was standing next to him in training, watching the lads play a small-sided game and he said to me, ‘If I have to step back, what you have to do is get us as high as you can in the league, a creditable position, because we’ve only been in the league three years and some have been here 20!’.

“‘Stick with the lads who have stuck with us, those who have shown loyalty to us, and if you can incorporate a couple of younger lads, and rotate them on the bench and stuff like that, that’d be a good little opportunity for them to get involved’.

“I said. ‘All right’ and he then said, ‘But you’ve got to keep the costs down!’ If you’re up there, Ernie, job done!”

Record is in his second spell as manager. He watched the team with his dad when he was young, then played for them and was in charge the season they had to fold.

He said: “What