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Changes to his work patterns with the Royal Mail mean that he would be unable to attend most Saturday away games whilst he is also not able to attend training sessions on Thursday's to coach the team for family reasons.

On the news team manager Gary Norton commented: "Martyn was visibly gutted about having to step down as he really enjoyed his role with us. However, his change in working pattern has affected him attending many of our weekend away games whilst our change of training nights this season from a Wednesday due to available facilities meant that for family reasons he was struggling to attend any Thursday training sessions.

"This clearly wasn't an ideal position for him to be in and without a change in circumstance visible anytime soon Martyn has decided to step down from his role as first team coach. He spoke to the lads at training on Tuesday about it and was quite emotional which showed how much of a big decision it was for him.

"We totally understand his situation and he will be a big miss to us as he was doing a brilliant job and was hugely popular with the lads. Without doubt, he's one of the best coaches I've worked with and was a very valuable member of our backroom team here at Gresley. He would be welcomed back anytime should his situation change."

Norton added: "To replace Martyn we are pleased to announce that experienced defender Lee Barrow has been appointed as Player/Coach. We were aware that Lee already has some coaching qualifications and so we spoke to Lee at length at training on Thursday about whether he would be interested in coming on board.

"We are delighted that he has accepted and he will start his role with immediate effect. He knows the lads well and from that respect it will be a smooth transition. On top of that he has had a great career in both the professional and semi-professional game and so will bring a lot more valuable experience to our backroom team."