A DIRECTOR of Margate, Keith Piper, says he wants to remain friends with former manager Chris Kinnear, despite the shock parting of the ways last week.

Piper watched the club’s 1-0 win at Hampton on Saturday, their first for six games as life after Kinnear began with Robin Trott and Mike Flanagan in caretaker charge until the end of the season.

Piper said: "It was probably the most difficult week I have had in 20 years at the club, The whole club needed freshening up, and I was proud of the players for picking themselves up after everything that has happened, going out and getting a result.

"The board arrived at the decision and, unfortunately, I had the job of telling Chris. I certainly hope we can remain friends, because it was a much closer relationship, than chairman/director - manager.

"We had been together for 10 years, seen and done an awful lot together, and I certainly hope we will stay friends, I feel quite lost without him. and it was very diffrent not seeing Chris get on the team bus coming to the game,

"I sat down on Friday to pen a letter to him, and I started by telling him how strange it was preparing for a match, without our normal banter and talk on the phone.

"Sometimes we spoke six or seven times a day, anytime from seven in the morning until midnight, and it was a relationship that mean’t a lot to me."

The timing of Kinnear’s departure was surprising but Mr Piper revealed the club had already received a dozen applications, without the job even being advertised.

He added: "I needed the weekend to get my head around things and start thinking about next season.

"Last week was very difficult with petitions calling for Chris to be reinstated, and against me to go. The only way you can lay that sort of thing to rest is by getting a few results, and get the fans to believe that there is life after Chris."

Kinnear spent his first weekend off working as summariser for BBC local radio at Gillingham. Long serving physio John Griffin and kit man Kevin Martin also walked out in protest at his departure.