Kevin Watson has no regrets about taking over as Herne Bay’s boss despite Isthmian Premier relegation.

Watson replaced Ben Smith in November and was joined by Adam Flanagan as his assistant, with the club bottom.

Bay needed to win their final two fixtures to stand any chance of survival but lost 4-1 at Wingate & Finchley on Saturday as their first taste of Step 3 football proved brief.

Watson said: “It’s not for us [the management team] to necessarily publicly say about the jobs we’ve done.

“But what I can say with confidence is that I feel we have got a clear conscience. That’s important.

“Obviously we’re hyper-critical and, even after the game on Saturday, myself and Adam were thinking ‘What could we have done differently?’. You have to have that kind of lens when you’re doing what we do.

“There’s moments in the season we look at and think how the season could have been quite different - had we got a result there, or had we not had those injuries, or should we have changed that tactically. But if you don’t have that collective reflection, then, maybe, you don’t learn as much.

“Certainly, I’ve got to put public my thanks to the people we’ve been working with. The players at the club that have been supportive and genuine, the fanbase and Adam. He came in to support me at a time I’d chosen to take a job that was a difficult job.

“People at the time thought we were crazy doing so because we were putting ourselves in a vulnerable position from the outset. But it’s not one I regret.

“Adam’s been extremely supportive and I’d like to think we have learnt aspects, working with each other, because we knew each other well, played together [at Folkestone] and stayed in contact.

“There’s Joe [Radford], the goalkeeper coach, Georgina [Dean, head of medical] and Aaron [Smith], the kitman, and all those other people that work tirelessly for the football club.”

Herne Bay were 2-0 behind in 30 minutes at Wingate and, despite midfielder Connor Dymond netting, they conceded twice more late on.

Watson reflected: “Since me and Adam have been in, generally, performances have been very good and so have been the mindsets of the players, even when on the wrong end of results.

“But Saturday I can’t honestly say that about how we performed.

“The analogy we used was about it being a Semi-Final and there’s probably a little bit of regret afterwards that we didn’t get through to the proverbial next round.

“We were disappointed but I said to the players that it would be unfair to judge them on one game and, over the course of the time that we’ve been working with them, I still maintain that the reflection on themselves and as a collective group has been very positive.”

With captain Laurence Harvey and strikers Kymani Thomas and Rory Smith already sidelined, Watson revealed: “Finn O’Mara was missing on Saturday, as well, and Mason Saunders-Henry played with a broken wrist.

“There’s lots of those things. But you have to deal with mitigating circumstances and we could all, as managers, find reasons and excuses. But we refuse to do so. It’s quite localised in terms of what goes on at each club, isn’t it?

“It’s absolutely been, in many respects, a pleasure. We have found a fanbase that is very supportive and it’s been great. They deserve success.”

Bay are understood to have appointed Stuart Fitchie’s replacement as chairman at last weekend’s AGM but are yet to reveal their identity.

Watson, who also said club officials have pledged “to put right” the wages players are owed from recent weeks, added: “I’m sure there will be an opportunity to discuss that with those involved and get some feedback.

“It’s been difficult to do it because, obviously, we’ve had a lot of games. Until things are finalised, it’s difficult to put plans and a new direction into place.

“But I’m sure those conversations will come.”

Bay end their season at home to newly-crowned champions Bishop’s Stortford this Saturday who will be out to finish a memorable campaign in style.

“I think the motivation for Saturday is personal pride and relentless effort for those who work tirelessly for the club and the fanbase, really,” added Watson.

“That’ll certainly be our approach.”