It is with much disappointment that Kings Langley FC announce that Chris Winton has informed the club of his decision to step down as first team manager.

In a relatively short tenure Chris has made steady improvements on the playing side and, just as importantly, generated huge rapport with the club's loyal fan base.

With that in mind the club were delighted to announce that, last month, Chris agreed that he would stay on as manager for the 2023/24 season.

Since that announcement the club have worked tirelessly in supporting Chris's efforts to start the season with a squad capable of competing at step 4. We have also worked closely with Chris to agree a pre-season schedule that he believed would give the squad the best possible preparation for the season ahead.

On Sunday (11 June), Chris informed the club that he would be stepping down as manager to take a coaching role elsewhere. The club realise, of course, that as a talented coach Chris will always attract the offer of opportunities at other clubs. Those offers will often prompt difficult personal decisions, the outcome of which, will seldom be to the convenience of all parties.

In this instance the timing and consequence is particularly challenging for the club but we nevertheless wish Chris all the very best in his new venture.

The board remain confident of realising our ambition of a swift return to step 3 status and we will share further updates in the coming days as we move swiftly to identify a suitable individual to take on the role of manager.