DANNY Lewis has resigned as player-manager of Saltash United after a cut to his playing budget for next season.

Lewis did an excellent job in guiding the Ashes to second place in the Toolstation Western League Premier Division and the semi-finals of the Cornwall Senior Cup in his first year in the post.

But he feared an exodus of players this summer as the club tightens its financial belt to cope with rising costs.

"I am thankful to Julie (Morley, chair), Phil (Durrant, football secretary) and Steve (Morley, secretary) for the opportunity, and in these testing times economically, I am very much aware that Saltash isn't the only club to be facing financial hardship," Lewis told the Cornish Times.

"For me I have always been someone that, if I am in a job, I am in it 100 per cent, and after what we achieved last season, I understand the club had to look at things financially and make sure they were sustainable in the future, and it just meant what I could offer my players financially and from a structure angle wasn't necessarily what I wanted and what I felt the players deserved.

"Also, from a personal aspect, after what we achieved last season and coming so close to promotion, I wanted to progress from that and not have to consolidate and accept that we maybe wouldn't challenge again.

"I very much had the intention of kicking on and progressing, but I don't think I would have been able to have kept the players I have got there now, who I think are worth a lot more.

"It is probably going to take a project and someone to come in and build."

Lewis, who has played for Saltash since 2005, says he has left the club with no animosity between the parties, and it hasn't put him off being a manager again.

"It has been a fantastic experience which I have really enjoyed, and I would love to stay in management," he added.

"I have enjoyed the challenge of it, I feel I have learnt a lot from it, and I would love, within the right framework and the right club who can match my ambition and drive, I would like to continue eventually."

Read the full interview in next week's Cornish Times.