St Albans City chairman Nick Archer has spoken after the club accepted the resignation of joint-managers Jimmy Gray and Graham Golds.

Speaking to the Herts Ad after the 4-0 defeat at Lowestoft Town, he explained what happened in the moments following the final whistle.

He said: “They made their decision, told the players in the dressing room and then they came to find me.

“And within 20 minutes of the end of the game, they had offered their resignation.

“I think they probably felt they had taken this group of players, and done as much with this group of players that they can.

“We’ve had three of four poor results on the run now, conceded a lot of goals and they’ve probably taken this group of players as far as they can.”

But despite the swiftness of the resignation, Archer was not totally surprised by their decision.

He said: “The results this season have not been what we would have hoped for in the league.

“There have been several discussions about how they might turn it round, including as recently as Thursday evening.

“I wasn’t expecting it to happen today necessarily but I think both sides were aware that results were not where we needed to be.”

He went on to express his regret that things had not worked out for the pair.

“I’m very disappointed for them because they are proper football men who I’ve known for a long time,” he said.

“We’ve worked together very well. I don’t think I could ever find managers that would work as hard to find players and get a formation on the pitch.

“Football is about results. When they don’t come on the pitch, managers have a short shelf life. I think we’ve accepted results as they are but we were definitely looking for a turnaround. James and Graham both knew that.”

He added that what happens next has not been decided.

He said: “There’s certainly no recruitment started yet.

“I guess we will regroup over the weekend, sleep on it, and then decide whether we are going to advertise or head hunt early next week.”