Lewes beat already-relegated Weston-super-Mare 3-0 thanks to a brace of goals from Jean-Michel Sigere and a header from captain Steve Robinson, who was later dismissed for two yellow cards.

An emotional King said, "I'll release a statement, probably next week.

"I don't think I've been through emotions like that in my life, apart from when my dad died recently."

Asked to describe his feelings for the club and now former players, King said, "There's a special bond, you know? This club will never see players like that again.

"It should be the happiest day off my footballing career so far, but it's not. It's sad.

"I've built the club on the pitch, that's how I feel. And the support the fans showed me today was something else.

"I know they've always been behind me; I know what the supporters have been like. Generally, 99.9 per cent of them are behind me.

"I'll just reflect on things, go out with the boys tonight, have a meal - be with my wife who's been a tower of strength for me. All my family were there today, all my wife's family were there.

"This is just for everyone - the supporters and the players. Some of those players take three hours to get to training, some of those players take three hours to get to a game - not once a week, twice a week three times a week. Probably half of their wages are going in travelling yet they still stuck with it. They've got a tremendous attitude. To dig in like that and to win the title - I'm just lost for words."

Captain Steve Robinson added, "It's an unbelievable situation - which came to light earlier in the week.

"He (King) didn't say too much. We kind of drew our own conclusions only this morning.

"Without saying too much, it affected us. It's something that has never happened to us - and hopefully will never happen to us again."

When Robinson - who was later dismissed for two yellow cards - scored Lewes's second goal (the other two came courtesy of Jean-Michel Sigere), he and Gary Holloway ran towards the Lewes dug-out where King was seated nearby in the stand and lifted their shirts to reveal a hand-written message saying, "The King is gone - long live the KING,"

When asked his thought behind that message, Robinson revealed, "You hear thing and you do things that you normally possibly wouldn't do. I just put my thoughts down for a man who has helped me out in my last few years in football.

"His record speaks for itself; he's well respected. As a manager it's a very difficult line where you bond with them (the players) but you've also got to be a disciplinarian. I think he did that perfectly and he's held in very high regard.

"I'm devastated really. As a team, it's all going to be broken up. Probably a few of us will go together and do other things. But to achieve something like that and not be able to continue it is disheartening."