Ramsgate Football Club have suddenly found themselves without a chairman and a manager.

After a dramatic weekend at Southwood, the chairman Paul Jefcoate resigned on Monday having dismissed the Rams’ managerial duo, Tim Dixon and his assistant Darren Beale 48 hours earlier.

Mr Jefcoate, who on Sunday had been turned down when he offered former Ramsgate bosses’ Jim and Danny Ward the caretaker roles of director of football and manager, said in a statement on the club’s website: “On Saturday I had the difficult task of discussing with Tim and Darren their dismissal, at which point they conveyed the fact that they were looking to stand down anyway due to a lack of confidence in the board as well as some gathering fans’ comments on their management and tactics.

“A board meeting had been convened earlier in the day when it was decided that a caretaker manager would be put in place and the post advertised.

“The caretaker managers were to be Jim and Danny Ward with a view that they would also be interviewed along with all other applicants before a decision would be made.

“Since I have stepped into the role of chairman, I have worked non-stop to try and get the club heading in the right direction and I know that there has been some questionable decisions along the way and, judging by some of the vitriol on here (the club website), this is the worst one yet.

“Unfortunately, some difficult decisions have to be made and sometimes fairly quickly and not always for the reasons that you might expect.

“Please be sure that any of my decisions have been made purely for the betterment of the club (in my opinion) and given that the board and I feel that they were not correct, I am standing down with immediate effect.”

Dixon became Southwood boss in April 2012 after Jim Ward, the then-manager, refused to switch to the position of director of football.

Ward, who with younger brother Danny led the club to 10 senior trophies during his previous periods in charge, explained why they had turned down the chance to return to Southwood.

'I want another crack at getting into the Ryman Premier with a club who are going to match my ambition' - Jim Ward

He said: “I’m 62 now and I think I have got at least seven or eight years left in me (in football management) and I want another crack at getting into the Ryman Premier with a club who are going to match my ambition.

“All we ask is that we are given the tools to do the job and at the moment I don’t think that would be the case at Ramsgate.

“It was a major call for us but we feel, with our CV and track record, there will be something better out there.”

Ramsgate, who are currently eighth in Ryman League, Division 1 South, are at home to Whitstable on Tuesday night.