Ryan Maxwell stunned Sittingbourne fans at the club’s presentation evening by declaring: “I’m staying.”

Maxwell resigned as manager a week ago after accepting an offer from a club close to his Hertfordshire home.

It was a difficult decision for the Northern Irishman and one he took in order to spend more time with his young family.

But after talking things over wife Amy, the 40-year-old performed a U-turn, to the delight of Brickies fans.

He’d been due to say goodbye to supporters at last night’s end-of-season awards at Woodstock but instead had a surprise in store.

“I’m staying,” he said. “Don’t worry, I’ll be divorced in a year!”

Maxwell, who led Sittingbourne to the Isthmian South East play-off this season, added: “The people behind this football club are really special – all proper people, all pure.

“There’s no angle here. At most non-league clubs there’s always an angle, someone’s wanting something else.

“Here, everyone wants the same thing.

“They just want to give you a successful football club, that’s all they want.

“They’re trying so hard to get the new ground, they’re trying so hard to get the pitch right, they’re trying so hard to give us the budget.

“How can you really leave that?”

Maxwell opened his expected farewell speech by speaking about his decision to leave.

He’d agreed to take a job at a club 15 minutes from home but couldn’t go through with it.

“I like to class myself as a man of substance,” he said.

“If I say something I do mean it and my family is unbelievably important to me.

“They’re the main thing in my life and I’m proud to say that.

“So a lot of consideration was given - I can’t tell you how much consideration was given.

“I don’t mind telling you I nearly shed a tear. My eyes filled up.

“I was very, very upset for days and it was so difficult because I look at people here I’ve got connections with and people I respect and have got to know, and I know that is unique.

“Making a decision like that is extremely hard. I’ve been invested since the day I was here.

“I’ve given you all I possibly could.

“We (the management team) couldn’t have given any more time, effort, energy, sacrifice, but you deserve it.

“Having made a decision as big as that, it sits with you for a while.

“You don’t just move on. You’ve got connections. It doesn’t end like that and it certainly didn’t for me.”

Last week, vice-chairman Andrew Marjeram spoke about the affection for Maxwell at Sittingbourne.