Fears of fighting a second relegation battle in as many seasons prompted Hythe Town’s board to sack manager Tim Dixon.

Acting chairman Paul Markland made the decision on Sunday after the Cannons had slumped to their sixth defeat in 10 league games.

He said: "We need a fresh approach. It’s a shame because Tim’s a great guy. At the beginning of the month we gave him a few more games but things haven’t improved.

"We don’t want to get into a relegation fight in the second half of the season and that’s one of the reasons we had to act now.

"I gave Tim all the backing I possibly could but how patient can you be?

"In the close-season, we’d have time on our side but we’re 10 games into the season and we’ve got a difficult cup game coming up (Aylesbury away in the FA Trophy) so time is not on our side."

Dixon’s predecessor Scott Porter had led Hythe to the Kent League title and FA Cup first round in 2010/11 before guiding them to the Ryman League Division 1 South play-offs two years later.

Mr Markland said: "Scott was a successful manager over a number of years so he was always going to be a tough act to follow. But Tim is well thought-of in local football and he’s got plenty of contacts.

"Last year was difficult because he had to rebuild the squad completely but this year we thought we could kick on from that. Tim had the chance to put his own mark on it but it didn’t work out.

"It’s disappointing for the club - and for Tim and Darren (Beale) because they’re good guys.

"But it’s a results-driven business and we had to put the football club first."