Ryan Thompson said Colney Heath’s will they-won’t they flirtation with the Essex Senior League was an “absolute nightmare”.
The Magpies were shocked to find the original allocation for step-five club moved them across from the SSML to the ESL.
An appeal pushed the decision back to the authorities who ruled again that they should be switched.
They were finally placed back in the Spartan League but the Heath boss admitted trying to attract players during the uncertain period was a real problem.
He said: "A core was going to stay anyway but some players didn't want to sign as we were going into the Essex.
"We couldn't get players from that area as we don't really know it so we were struggling.
"And then we were put back in the Spartan and it was in and out, nobody knew what was going on so it was a real nightmare.
"I was trying to have the summer off and I was on the phone all the time."
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