Steve McKimm speaks following his shock sacking by Tonbridge Angels

Steve McKimm says the timing of his shock sacking from Tonbridge will stay with him for the rest of his career.

McKimm was dismissed just 24 hours after Angels secured National League South safety - his remit for the season.

It was a bolt out of the blue for the long-serving boss, who departs along with No.2 Barry Moore, after an eight-year reign which saw them win promotion and reach the FA Cup first round for the first time in almost half a century.

As well as clinching survival this year, McKimm also led Tonbridge on their best-ever FA Trophy run, beating National League sides Torquay and King’s Lynn en route to the last 16 before bowing out on penalties to Bromley, all on a modest budget.

McKimm was already planning for next season, with two friendlies arranged and a meeting next week with a “high-profile player who wanted to play for us”.

He’d also been involved, along with Moore, in discussing requirements for Angels’ new 3G pitch, which will be laid this summer.

But he’s out of work after a board meeting to discuss next season’s budget led to a phone call from director Sophie Purves at 7.40pm on Tuesday night saying she needed to see him face-to-face.

They met at a hotel where Purves explained the board had unanimously agreed McKimm had taken Tonbridge as far as he could.

The manner of his sacking has hurt McKimm, who says the decision could have been made before the weekend.

That would have given him the chance to say goodbye to the fans at Longmead where a crowd of 1,238 saw Angels beat Eastbourne 2-0 to preserve their National South status with a game to spare. They finish the season at St Albans this Saturday.

“I’m disappointed that, after eight years, this decision was made at a budget meeting and I couldn’t