Ben Smith is no longer in charge at Ramsgate - but still hopes to see them win promotion.

Ex-boss Smith left the Rams by mutual consent earlier this month and was quickly replaced by Tony Russell.

But he retains great affection for the club and the players he’s left behind and wants to see them win Isthmian South East.

They fell just short under Smith, pipped to the title by Cray Valley before falling to Chichester in the play-off semi-finals.

“I wish Ramsgate all the best,” said Smith, who also led the club to the FA Cup second round for the first time in their history.

“I’ve no ill feeling towards anyone there.

“I’m not going to say Ramsgate isn’t a fantastic club just because I’m not the manager any more, because it is.

“It’s a fantastic club, with fantastic people. It’s a shame I’m not involved any more but that’s life and that’s football.

“I genuinely want to see Ramsgate promoted - genuinely.

“I hope Joe Taylor scores even more than he did last year.

“I wouldn’t begrudge anyone success, certainly not the people I’ve worked with and have given me everything.”

It was initially announced Smith would be staying on for the second year of his contract after Ramsgate’s play-off exit.

But the situation changed and he stepped down following talks with chairman James Lawson.

“Football moves on quickly,” said Smith. “Time waits for no man and football certainly doesn’t want for anyone.

“It’s the right decision for all parties.

“We had an amazing season but mentally it was so draining because we put so much pressure on ourselves to do well.

“Missing out the way we did takes a lot out of you.

“Suddenly, it’s we’re going again now and you’ve got a couple of weeks to get back into that mode.

“As a manager, you put your heart and soul into everything and, mentally, it’s a real challenge to say, that’s gone now, park that, we’re moving forward.

“It gives the club a clean break and it gives me time to look back and reflect on what went well and what I could improve on.”

Ambitious Ramsgate were favourites to win the league last season, building a squad that would be the envy of many.

They finished with 89 points and scored 106 goals to go alongside their record-breaking FA Cup exploits.

But a relentless Cray Valley side ended up champions by six points, losing only once.

Smith said: “There were so many highs but it’s the lows that stick out at the moment and the way it ended in terms of missing out to Cray and then losing in the play-offs.

“I’m sure at some stage the other games, like the FA Cup and putting nine past Phoenix, will take over but not winning promotion will haunt me.

“I don’t think that’s something that goes away.

“I think I’m a better manager for the year at Ramsgate.

“When you put yourself into that sort of job, you’re there to be shot at.

“We weren’t too far from being perfect, which shows how good Cray Valley were.

“We had some unbelievable moments, like being on the TV in the FA Cup.

“You get to see another side of football that most people in non-league don’t.

“It’s easy to criticise from the outside but you’ve got to be brave to take on a big job like that.

“I think it’s the biggest Step 4 club in the south of England and possibly across the country.

“You’ve got to have the balls to make decisions that might make people unhappy and might get a lot of people talking.

“I thought I stepped up and we didn’t do badly.

“People talk about big budgets but I’ve done stuff on a lot lower budgets and you earn the chance to have a bigger budget.

“It’s then about what you do with it.

“Ultimately I fell short, so I see it as failure.”

Smith, who won the Isthmian South East play-offs with Herne Bay two years ago, intends to get back into management.

He’s already had offers but is in no rush to return to the dugout.

“I want to get back in but, after being at Ramsgate, it has to be the right club,” he said.

“I’ve had offers but it needs to be the right fit, something that really motivates me to put everything into it again.

“In non-league, you do it for the people, not the money.

“You do it for all the volunteers that invest time and effort into the club and we had some fantastic volunteers at Ramsgate.

“I like the community aspect of it which you don’t get higher up the pyramid.

“It’s not about levels for me, it’s about the impact on the community and it’s got to be a well-run club.

“That will either come up or it won’t and if it doesn’t, it’ll be even harder to forget about that last game at Ramsgate.

“I couldn't finish like that - I have to go again.

“It’s a tough one because to get a job, someone else has got to do badly and that’s not a nice thing.

“I’ll go out and watch some games and take a rest.”