WHILE he admitted it was a difficult decision to part company with manager James Meadows, Wivenhoe Town chairman Mo Osman said it was a step the club felt they had to make after a tough run of form.

Last weekend's 1-0 defeat by bottom side Fire United was the Dragons' 14th loss in a row in Thurlow Nunn League division one south and their 15th in all competitions and has left them just four points above the foot of the table.

It has been an uncomfortable run since their last win on October 27 and has cost Meadows his position.

The club said the decision was made by mutual consent and although he didn't like having to make it, Osman felt it was necessary for a new manager to come to rebuild belief in the squad with ten games of the season to go.

"I have been in that manager's hotseat myself and I know how it is," said Osman.

"You're left scratching your head about how to turn it around and it can be a lonely place so I have tried to help James out with some coaching duties over the last couple of weeks.

"But with the side we have and the players he has picked up, we should not be losing 14 games on the trot.

"We just look like we will lose every game at the moment.

"If that stayed as it was then we felt as a club that we would keep losing and that's why we have made the change.

"We accept that and James has as well.

"No-one at the club has a problem with him on a personal level but it's just not working.

"Maybe a different approach and a different face will trigger something in the lads and that's why we've changed it.

"We honestly have nothing against James; he is a good lad who has given it a good crack. "The lads we have here are not a million miles off but we have been losing games and we just felt a change was needed.

"I thought we were unlucky on Saturday as it was a mistake that led to their goal so that was unfortunate but when the luck isn't going for you it can be tough and the club felt that after losing 14 games, it was enough and we had to change it.

"It will be a challenge for whoever comes in but a new manager and two or three new faces with a bit of quality can hopefully gives us more belief.

"I think there is quality there but the belief has gone.

"We haven't scored in five games and you could see that on Saturday.

"Had we even nicked a draw then that would have given us something to break the run, but losing was tough again and especially in the manner that we did late on."

With a tough home game against high-flying Coggeshall United coming up on Saturday, Osman knows the Dragons can't afford to take their time in moving forward.

He has ruled out himself returning to the managerial hotseat on a permanent basis, but said he and others with managerial experience at the club would run training this week and take charge for the coming weekend.

However, he hopes a new appointment can be made swiftly to steady the ship and ensure the club is safe from the threat of relegation in the closing months of the campaign.

"There are two targets for us now," said the Dragons chairman.

"The first is to get through this week and we have people at the club capable of doing that.

"We don't have a reserve game this weekend so there are people, including myself, with management experience who can take training and the game against Coggeshall on Saturday.

"There are no easy games but anything is possible and we will give it a good crack.

"There's no point rushing in and putting someone in for this weekend, but we know we are not in a position to pick and choose and the position has been advertised.

"So we will manage it within the club this week, but we have invited applications for a new manager and if a candidate comes forward who can make an impact then we will move forward with them in the short term until the end of the season.

"It's a bit unclear how many teams will go down, but we have to make sure we finish nowhere near relegation.

"We need someone who can bring confidence to the current crop of players and we'll then see where we are at the end of the season to see how we move forward."