Whitton boss heading for Tiptree

Stuart Watson

By Stuart Watson

WHITTON United have suffered another major blow in their quest to avoid relegation with the announcement that manager Gary Thompson will be leaving the club following their Boxing Day clash.

The 36-year-old former Ipswich midfielder has taken up an offer from fellow Ridgeons League Premier Division club Tiptree United to become assistant manager to Colin Wallington.

Thompson - whose career also saw him play for Sudbury, Wivenhoe, Clacton and Woodbridge - said: “They (Tiptree) are interested in getting promoted and that made my mind up really. I wanted to be part of that.

“I took this job at Whitton because it was the club I had played for as a child and because I wanted to help a local club.

“But I would rather be involved with a club that is looking forward rather than just keeping its head above water.

“It's like any job, eventually you get to a stage where you have got to decide whether you want to stay where you are and simply get by or whether you want to push on to the next stage.”

It has been a tough season so far for the Greens who first saw their chairman Phil Pemberton step down from his position, before Thompson's assistant, former Ipswich player Neil Gregory, also walked away from the club.

In addition the club were dealt the bad news that it would be at least three years before they could move away from their current home of the King George V Playing Field.

Whitton's 4-0 home defeat against fellow strugglers Woodbridge Town on Saturday has left them in further trouble at the bottom of the table. The Ipswich-based side are now still three points off the bottom three but have played five more games than the two sides immediately below them.

Essex side Tiptree meanwhile are comfortably placed 11th in the table and are well-placed for a promotional push should they take advantage of their games in hand.