FELIXSTOWE & Walton manager Glen Driver will leave the club at the end of the season after “taking the club as far as he can”.

FELIXSTOWE & Walton manager Glen Driver will leave the club at the end of the season after “taking the club as far as he can”.

Driver told his players immediately after masterminding their 2-1 win against Histon Reserves on Wednesday evening after growing concerned that the club’s ambition cannot match his own.

Felixstowe & Walton are on the cusp of their best ever finish in the Ridgeons Premier Division despite Driver and assistant Tony Kinsella operating on a reduced budget from last season when they finished 12th.

But Driver feels that it is time to move on and find a club that has more potential to work its way up the non-league pyramid.

“I was a very ambitious player and as a manager I’m exactly the same,” said Driver, who took over from Steve Potts at The Town Ground in October 2008. “I just feel that we’ve taken them as far as we can.

“I took over the club when they were second from bottom and it was hard work releasing players but we managed a respectable finish in my first season.

“The club gave us a realistic budget to keep us in the league this year and we knew that we had to prove our worth.

“But the budget is likely to be slashed again at the end of this season and we’re not likely to be able to keep hold of our current squad, let alone build on that.”

Driver believes that more needs to be done to draw the local public to their matches having lost just once at home all season.

“We worked very hard and we’re very proud of what we’ve done but I just don’t feel we can take the club any further as it currently stands.

“For a club based in a town with a population of around 30,000 to get 70 fans to home games isn’t good enough.

“We’ve only lost one game at home and if you can’t get people to go and watch a winning side then you’re going to struggle on the financial side.”

Driver insists he and assistant Tony Kinsella have not made any plans beyond the end of this season but said they would be prepared to take charge of a lower team, if they saw enough potential.

“I have not left them for any other club - I’m taking a bit of a gamble in that respect really,” he added. “We are very ambitious and hopefully there’s a club out there that can match that.

“I don’t really want to go too far geographically but you judge everything on its merits.”

Club chairman Tony Barnes admitted that Driver will prove a tough act to follow but wants to make a new appointment as soon as possible.

“We’re obviously sad to see Glen go but we wish him and Tony all the best in the future.

“It will be difficult for whoever comes in but we said that when Steve Potts left us. We’ve not set the budget for next season yet but, as with a lot of clubs, savings are likely to be made.

“We are a very well run club and I don’t expect any shortage of takers for the job. We will be looking to make an appointment as soon as possible to give the next man the chance to work with the squad and make the preparations necessary before pre-season.”