Blue Square South winner King was controversially removed from his post as manager despite winning the Blue Square South title.

The decision has dismayed Rooks fans who made their feelings heard at Lewes's final game of the season, against Weston-super-Mare, where Lewes picked up the league trophy in surreal circumstances. During the match, fans chanted, "Sack the board".

But chief executive Martin Elliott and fellow director Kevin Powell today told Sport Express that Lewe's 'phenomenal' rise up the non-league pyramid had put intense financial pressure on the board.

They claimed that – even with the cash injection expected to be recieved by the consortium headed by former Brighton & Hove Albion player and England and Aston Villa star Gareth Barry – the board would not have been able to provide the necessary finances required by King and his squad.

Elliott said, "Steve has been fantastic for Lewes Football Club, he's done a super job.

"(But) we've progressed through the leagues at an alarming rate.

"The progress has been phenomenal and that in itself of course has caused a great deal of pressure and added responsibility.

"We effectively now have a professional football club in lots of different ways. It's got to be run and managed accordingly.

"Yet again we find ourself looking at a huge jump forward."

Powell added, "Over the last few years, if you look back at our accounts – and they are open to the public at Companies House – we have made losses.

"Those losses are covered by money been put in to cover the budget – to cover the running of the club.

"The club would not be where it is without the benefactors – the board members – putting money in.

"The fans want to see the continued rise of Lewes Football Club. But the reality is that Lewes Football Club, without significant moneys, could not continue at this level – with the same playing budget and the same manager.

"If we'd gone down the route where we had no one else involved, the budget (for next season) would have been lower. The fact that we've actually found some people who are looking to inject sponsorship and improve the sponsorship budget means we can revise our budget for the better.

"So it is an improvement on what we would have had if we hadn't had any injection. (But) it is NOT up to the level that Steve King needs to run his team."

Outgoing Brighton & Hove Albion commercial manager Kevin Keehan – part of the consortium headed by Barry – has been installed as the new first team manager.

Keehan has limited experience in management, with a stint at Horsham YMCA.

Many fans are furious that the board has replaced a manager who provided the Rooks with five years of stunning success with a man with such little experience.

But Powell said of King's appointment in 2003, "We then interviewed a huge number of candidates and (candidate) Steve King was obviously involved in the interview process.

"The board knew that he had no knowledge at all of managing – no experience whatsoever. But we felt he was the right move at that time.

"Again there were a lot of comments made about how the board didn't know what it was doing.

"I think all these points are important because we're back in that same situation."

• Keep logging on to our website for more on the Lewes FC situation. And don't miss Friday's paper for extended comments from Martin Elliott and Kevin Powell.

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