Bartlett steps down at Wealdstone after 22 years

Gordon Bartlett has stepped down as manager of Wealdstone after 22 years in charge.

The decision was taken by mutual consent, with the Stones sitting 18th in National League South but keen to chase a play-off place.

The 61-year-old will remain with the club in a new role encompassing youth development and community football.

Since taking over in 1995, Bartlett has taken Wealdstone from Isthmian League Division Three to eighth in National League South last sseason.

Wealdstone chairman Peter Marsden said an announcement on Bartlett’s successor would be made in due course.

He said: “Gordon has been pivotal in the club re-establishing itself as a force in the non-League game. He is quite simply a Wealdstone legend.

“I am pretty confident that as the season developed, and as some of our players returned from injury, our form under Gordon would have picked up quite nicely.

“But such is the level of expectation at Wealdstone that we need to be either in or close to the leading pack from the very start if we are to fulfil our destiny.”

Bartlett admitted it had been a “very tough decision”, taken after a meeting with Marsden.

He said: “Peter and I sat down and agreed it wasn’t working, so it’s time for a change and unfortunately the buck stops with me.

“Despite my huge disappointment to step aside after 22 years, I genuinely believe the club will benefit from a new approach and a fresh start is what it craves.

“I move on with some brilliant memories and the knowledge the club is in a far better place than when I took over.”

Bartlett managed Hounslow in the late 1980s and Yeading in the early 1990s, prior to taking over at Wealdstone.

As a player, he was briefly on the books of Brentford in 1977 but did not make a competitive appearance.