Brantham boss Matt Carmichael has left the club just weeks after his fellow joint boss Michael Brothers also departed.

The pair enjoyed huge success at the Leisure Centre-based club, winning the League Cup last season, enjoying a fine FA Cup run this, as well as taking the club on an unbeaten 19-game run.

The team are currently sixth in the Thurlow Nunn Premier.

“Obviously with Michael (Brothers) stepping down I had to take stock of it all,” Carmichael said.

“His decision was out of the blue for all of us.

“Michael lived just five minutes from the ground, whereas I live much further. He was able to get to training early to start things up. It just became the little things that begun to play on me.

“I have always been someone who enjoyed a bit of banter on the touchline and all that sort of stuff. But in recent weeks I have felt myself getting angry. Which isn’t like me.

“I just felt if I continue to act like this I will lose respect from people I respect.

“I have a young family and my wife said for the first time I was bringing my football home and that is really when it had to stop for me.

“I spoke to plenty of people in football I can trust and I know this is the right decision.”

Carmichael and Brothers have proved a formidable team at Brantham and the Blue Imps are now a force to be reckoned with at Step 5.

They guided the team to a second qualifying round FA Cup tie against Step Two Eastbourne Borough earlier this season and in front of a big crowd put on a fine performance, to lose just 0-1.

Last season they won the Thurlow Nunn League Cup after beating Thetford 4-2.

Carmichael doesn’t expect to be out of the game for too long.

“I’m currently doing my UEFA B and if I want to carry that on, which I do, I need to jump straight back on the horse,” he said.

“I’ve done the ‘taking a break’ thing and I’m not doing that again.”

And he paid tribute to the people at Brantham.

“Brantham is a great club, with a great chairman, Peter Crowhurst, who doesn’t get half the accolades he should,” Carmichael added.

“Darren Smith and Tony Hall do so much work, everyone does. It’s just a nice club to have been at. I have no bad feelings of it at all.

“I like to think me and Bruvs (Michael Brothers) have left a bit of a legacy too. We’ve galvanised the youth section and brought the senior teams closer together.”

Brantham travel to Stowmarket Town this Saturday, in a Premier Division clash.