Gary Johnson says he has been touched by the response he has had from both in and outside the club since his resignation as Whitstable Town chairman.

Mr Johnson stood down at the club's February board meeting on Monday as a result of ‘personal and offensive’ criticism directed at him by another committee member.

The remarks were made in a letter allegedly written by club historian and long-serving committee member Bernard Thompson and circulated at Monday's meeting.

Mr Johnson said the two-page statement also made false statements about how the club was being run as well as a ‘raft of other things’ which, he felt, left him with no choice but to end to his three-and-a-half year tenure at the helm.

Mr Johnson said he was 'bitterly disappointed' to have left the Ryman League Division 1 South strugglers, but added he had been heartened by the reaction of the county's football fraternity.

He said: "I woke up (on Wednesday) and saw a number of unsavoury comments (about me) on social media but I've also had positive comments from a myriad of people I wouldn't have expected it from including other clubs.

"I had people email me saying you won't know me, but you always spoke to me and you were taking the club forward. I'm sorry to see you go.

"That sort of thing means an awful lot to me, far more than the people who make unsavoury comments without knowing anything about the ins and outs of running a football club."

Mr Johnson's resignation ended a seven-year association with Town - including four years as secretary - but he said he felt he had no option.

He added: “I’m disappointed but let me make it very clear, my resignation is a not as a direct result of anything to do with on-field football matters, it’s off-field matters.

“Since I’ve joined the club, I’ve played a very active and full role and dedicated a lot of time and resource but, like at any club, people need to work cohesively and together and sadly the remarks (in the letter) were, in my opinion, personal and offensive to me and the way we run the club.

“I’ve been transparent and democratic during my tenure.It’s easy to throw stones – I just wish the individual would have conducted himself in a different way.

“It’s a great shame for me personally because I’ve loved my time at Whitstable. It’s a great family club which has a terrific fan base and a lot of good people who work hard.

“I think I’ve raised the profile within the town and the community. I’ve also made a significant financial contribution to the running of the club.”

Mr Johnson said he was proud of what the club had achieved during his time at The Belmont and he still hoped they could avoid relegation.