Jack Pearce stands down as Bognor Regis Town manager

His latest stint in the hotseat has lasted since 2017 but he has now decided he has done it for long enough.

Assistant Robbie Blake and coach Jamie Howell will be in charge of team affairs for the remainder of season - starting at home to Cray Wanderers this weekend.

THE ANNOUNCEMENT

Pearce, who has been at he club for nearly 52 years, made the announcement to supporters at Friday night's fans' forum in Seasons clubhouse.

It is not a huge surprise - he was always going to move aside at some point - but most perhaps expected him to carry on at least until the end of the season. We had reported on Wednesday - and in the Bognor Observer yesterday - that the future of the management team was among subjects up for discussion tonight.

This has been a frustrating and inconsistent season for the Rocks. They started it with high hopes of a play-off place but with 11 games to go they are marooned in mid-table, 20 points off the top five. Home form has been a problem - they have won only five of their 15 home league matches, also drawing five and losing five - while injuries have hit them hard and numerous soft goals have infuriated the management and fans.

The club tweeted from the forum: "A clearly emotional Jack Pearce given a thunderous standing ovation after confirming he is letting go of responsibilities regards managing first team but pledges to continue to work on behalf of the Rocks." You can see the ovation in the tweet embedded in this story

We must not let Rocks' season peter out.

THE PEARCE YEARS

Pearce first arrived at the Rocks in 1970 and became player-manager in 1976. Apart from a short spell when the Pullens managed the team, he did the job until 2007 - when he stepped back to take more of a role running the club behind the scenes and deal with some health issues.

But after spells with Michael Birmingham, Mick Jenkins, Darin Killpartrick and Jamie Howell in charge, the Rocks had trouble replacing Howell after promotion to National South in 2017 - including an ill-fated brief spell when defender Sami El-Abd took the job then had to give it up a week or so later - Pearce took over again for the 2017-18 season.

That ended in relegation back to the Isthmian premier, where they have been since, with Pearce as manager and Blake alongside him as head coach.

It is not yet clear whether Blake and Howell will be the management team in the longer term but such a partnership would probably prove popular among the fan-base.

Pearce, who also holds a senior position at he FA, is likely to carry on playing a major role in the club as a whole, with work like attending to off-field and financial matters and scouting players likely to be on his to-do list.

Surprise departure from Nye Camp dressing room.

THE REACTION

Fans were quick to give their response to Pearce's decision, saying he deserved plaudits but was going at the right time.

Stuart Barclay tweeted: "Huge respect to Jack for all he has done for the club but it's time! I hope Jamie and Robbie gel well and we can go into next season with a new and invigorated management group. Maybe a couple of centre midfielders while we are at it."

Simon Pegg said of the great reception Pearce got when he made the announcement: "Well deserved. The right decision."

Ian Guppy, chairman of the Rocks supporters' club, tweeted: "Love him or hate him you can't not thank him for all he's done for @rocks1883 and more importantly non-League football as a whole. The non-League football world will always be indebted to the work Jack has done and we are lucky to have him at @rocks1883. Thank you."

Dion Sampson added: "Very emotional speech by Jack and rightfully so he gets a standing ovation for what he has done for the club for over 50 years, but 1 door closes another opens for the new managerial team to take us to the next level."

East Dean FC, who have close links with the Rocks, said: "Over 50 years at the same club at such a high standard, the hours and time this man has put in for the @rocks1883 is truly astounding, and still going #uptherocks #legend #whensthebookout"