FORMER Aveley manager Justin Gardner said he left the club at the start of the month as he didn’t want to tarnish the happy memories he had enjoyed there.

Gardner’s departure came as a massive shock to many, with the Millers sitting third in the Ryman North when the announcement came following an excellent start to the season.

Citing ‘personal reasons’, Gardner admitted he didn’t want to disclose the exact reasons for his sudden exit but the club’s longest serving manager said he had enjoyed a hugely profitable time in his four-and-a-half years there.

“I didn’t want to leave but I felt I had to for personal reasons,” he said. “I always put myself last at Aveley but I couldn’t this time.

“I resigned because I didn’t want to resent anything about the club. Until the days before I left I had a great time aside from the frustrations surrounding finances. It was my life and will always have a special place in my heart.

“It was on its knees when I arrived. There was a bad atmosphere and I had to build a new team and we went on to have successful seasons.

“I felt we were in a healthy enough position to leave."

When Gardner took over from Lee Hodges in February 2012, the Millers were all-but relegated from the Ryman Premier League after a poor run of results.

Aveley made the play-offs the following season before flirting with the top five in every season since, and Gardner said he was proud of what he had achieved at Mill Field.

“The club gave me a target and I always achieved it and more,” said Gardner, who won six trophies with Bethnal Green prior to making the Aveley switch. “In a way I was a victim of my own success and this team should challenge for the play-offs.

“It has always been competitive and the squad has largely stayed together and that has borne fruit so far this year.

“I believe the team I left would have made the play-offs guaranteed. It is shame that this has happened but I leave them in a good position.

“Getting into the play-offs in my first full season was great but I felt the league was easier then than now. Winning 5-1 away against Histon in the FA Cup was brilliant too as everyone said it was probably the best result in the club’s history.

“But I loved that club. I turned up on my wedding day to manage the team against Brentwood on October 13 2012, wearing my wedding suit. I got married in Braintree and drove to Aveley for the game and we won 3-1. Afterwards I was thrown into the air and being there with my wife in her dress and my groom’s party was an unforgettable moment.”

Gardner is now eyeing up a return to management, although says any decision made will not be a hasty one “I want to get back into it,” he said. “It is the first time I have had a break in 26 years. I am good at what I do but I will make no rash decisions, and it will be a position that matches my work ethic and ambitions.

“I am not too proud to take a step backways but I want to manage higher as well.”

New manager Terry Spillane will be looking to record his first win in charge against Bowers & Pitsea on Saturday.