Manager Ryan Maxwell has opened up on an “incredibly hard” decision to leave Sittingbourne.

Maxwell stood down on Friday night, three days after the Brickies’ Isthmian South East play-off exit.

He’s taking a job closer to home to spend more time with his young daughter.

The Northern Irishman was hugely popular with Brickies fans who’d seen him transform the club from relegation contenders to promotion challengers.

They were third-bottom when he succeeded Nick Davis in January last year.

He saved them from the drop before guiding them to third place in Isthmian South East this season.

They lost 2-1 at home to Three Bridges in the play-off semi-finals last Tuesday, which proved to be Maxwell’s final game in charge.

His reluctance to leave saw him hold exhaustive talks with vice-chairman Andrew Marjeram but there was no changing the fact travelling to Kent from his home near Stansted Airport was taking away important family time.

“It was an incredibly hard decision to leave,” said Maxwell, who will say a proper goodbye to fans at the club’s presentation evening this Friday.

“It was trying to justify a way to stay. I’ve absolutely loved every second of it at Sittingbourne.

“I’ve been involved in countless amounts of clubs over the years and I haven’t come across as a club that’s so honest and pure.

“I got to know everybody who has a role to play in the club and I got to know some of the fans really well.

“So when you have a bond like that and you’ve gone through a bit of a journey which was, one, to keep them up and, two, to try and get them up, you’ve got an investment there and it’s hard to just walk away from that.

“Like anything, when you put your time and effort in, it’s hard to walk away, so very, very, very, hard.

“We met up as a squad on Friday evening as I wanted to tell the players to their face.

“Even as I was telling them I was thinking, ‘Am I doing the right thing?’

“It was tough because they have invested their time in me, and the management team, and we’ve come so close to getting promoted.

“Ultimately I had to remind myself that I’m doing this for my family and the time I don’t spend with my daughter that I can’t get back.

“It was purely a family decision and an opportunity has presented itself that is very close to home.

“It didn’t matter necessarily about the league it was in - yes, it’s a league above - but that’s not the reason I’ve chosen to go there.

“It’s because it’s seven miles from my house, a 15-minute drive down one road.

“You get wrapped up in your own life when you’re a manager and you forget you’re making your family go through it with you.

“There were times I might not see my daughter for two days.

“It was weighing on my mind and I’ve made a decision to spend more time with the family because I can now.

“It’s priceless, it really is, and the only reason why I’ve left a club I love.”

Maxwell worked closely with vice-chairman Marjeram, the man who brought him to Sittingbourne.

They discussed all sorts in an attempt to keep him at Woodstock.

“We were talking about how to make it work, could we train a lot closer to my house?” said Maxwell.

“We talked about training at Epping, which is 20 minutes away from my house, but I thought, well, that’s OK for me but it’s not OK for the club, it’s not the right move for the club.

“Andrew did absolutely everything. He went above and beyond to possibly make it work, which is incredibly flattering, but also made it harder to leave.

“When someone is doing so much to keep you and doesn’t want you to go, you do try and see if there’s a way round it.

“But ultimately I couldn’t change the fact that I will always miss time at home where I have to leave early to get to Sittingbourne, through the traffic on the M25 and Dartford, and then coming home my daughter’s in bed and I haven’t seen her.

“That would never change, so I couldn’t make it work, but we did give it a good go.

“I can’t thank Andrew enough. He’s an incredible fella.

“He’s a close friend of mine now and that will never change.

“I can’t speak highly enough of him and the club.”

Sittingbourne fans have long held a reputation as some of the most passionate in the league, despite not having much to shout about in recent years.

That changed under Maxwell as the club enjoyed their best league finish since winning the Southern League South Division title in 1996.

“The fans make the club what it is,” said Maxwell.

“The fans have been special for me, absolutely incredible.

“I’m looking forward to seeing them on Friday at the presentation night.

“I want to show my appreciation to them and how incredible they’ve made it for me.

“I’ve absolutely loved managing their club and I hope they get behind Andrew and the new manager and keep the momentum going because they’ve got something special there.”