Mark Pitts says he and Simon Portrey leave Goole AFC with their heads held high following their shock sacking over Zoom on Monday morning.
Their departure leaves the club preparing to unveil their 16th management team in seven years and their third this season.
Pitts and Portrey were only given two months and six games in charge and they depart with a record of one win, two draws and three defeats.
Their exits are a surprise as they had overseen a clear upturn in form having inherited a team which had been on a bad run.
The losses came against three of the league’s best sides and one of the draws was the stunning stalemate with Yorkshire Amateur.
“We can be very proud with what we achieved,” Pitts told Non League Yorkshire.
“We were asked to cut the budget twice and we got it down. We lost our goalkeeper coach inside three weeks of getting the job.
“We had a nightmare with injuries but still managed to pull a side together. There were a lot of positives to me and I think we would have definitely kicked on and kept them in the Division.
“The point against Yorkshire Amateur was exceptional. I still kick myself over the Knaresborough game. We should have won it but we got a point.
“We beat Silsden and in the other games against Liversedge, Bridlington and Grimsby; I think anyone in the bottom half would have been delighted to get anything from playing those three. Bridlington had beaten a decent Handsworth side 9-1 the week before.
“None of the players have let us down and I thought we were building a good group. The spirit was really good.
“Considering the six-week break we had we were going in the right direction. We’re totally shocked by the decision.”
Pitts and Portrey were told of a long list of reasons – many of which were not revealed during the meeting – for their dismissal including one regarding team spirit which Pitts described as a “ridiculous claim”.
He said: “They said there was no camaraderie but how can you really work on team spirit properly when there’s a pandemic and you’re not allowed to socialise?
“If you watch the video of the Ammers game you’ll see plenty of camaraderie with players literally putting their bodies on the line to block everything they threw at us that night.
“I’m not going to keep gloating about that result but we took a point off the leaders who have dropped only four points.”
Although their reign has ended extremely negatively, Pitts does hold the club’s supporters in high regard.
“I’d like to thank the fans because they have been absolutely brilliant with us,” he said.
“In the first game we got hammered 6-0 by Liversedge and if I was a supporter I would thought ‘god, we’re in for a long haul here’.
“I’ve won a few trophies and had some decent experiences but that draw against the Ammers was unprecedented. I don’t think anyone expected that.
“The atmosphere that night was unbelievable. Every game we have played the fans have been brilliant. They deserve so much more.
“They’re some good volunteers there and some good guys in the background – Jamie Smith the secretary – and Leo Jamison who does the videos. He’s been an absolute diamond.”