MARK Tallentire has resigned as manager of Burnham after more budget cuts at the cash-strapped Southern League club.

Tallentire announced the decision on Tuesday evening after he watched his side dump Slough out of the county cup with a 3-0 win at Holloways Park.

He believes it would be impossible for the club to remain competitive without a playing budget and that guarantees made to players have been broken, which in turn has affected his own integrity.

Tallentire told the Observer: “Reading between the lines it seems as if historical debts have caught up with the club and they felt the need to take the players’ money and funnel it somewhere else.

“I thought about the decision and felt I couldn’t carry as you can’t play at that level without a budget. The bombshell was dropped on me on Monday and you’ve got to be quite unhappy.

“Everyone knows there has been a bit of history at Burnham with other managers, but I went in with eyes wide open and a guaranteed offer for players.

“I was adamant that the players’ money shouldn’t be messed about with at all because when I shake hands with people it’s a guarantee they get their money.

“It’s about having clean integrity, I’m big on that, so I felt it was the right thing to do and the players’ support makes me feel like I’ve definitely made the right decision.

“The players were stunned, surprised and shocked after just beating a good Slough team and playing really well, keeping a clean sheet against a team that destroyed us in pre-season.

“It’s a shame because it’s only papering over the cracks and there are one or two who were a little angered by it.”

Tallentire is bitterly disappointed and gutted for the players, who he believes could have reached their potential by Christmas and now expects them to follow him out of the club.

He said: “We worked really hard to get a squad together that could only get better. We were striving to go forward, everyone was integrating and we had a great team spirit.

“It’s unfortunate and probably means the demise of the squad because I can’t see what the club are going to do without a budget.

“It doesn’t take long for good players to get picked up by other clubs and one or two have already been offered deals.”

Looking ahead to his and Blues’ future, Tallentire commented: “Burnham have got some young players who aren’t on big money, so hopefully the club can lean on them to take it forward.

“I’m still hungry to carry on working and if another opportunity comes up and people are interested in me, then I will talk with one or two. It’s still raw but not dented my enthusiasm to management.”

Tallentire, who was only appointed at The Gore back in May, took charge of nine matches, resulting in three wins, one draw and five defeats.

Burnham make the short trip to Marlow in Division One South & West this Saturday (3pm).