Wayne Ambler insists the time is right to end his long association with Brampton.

The 43 year-old called time on a 28-year stay at the Memorial Field as a young helper, influential player and successful manager last weekend.

He called time on his five-year reign as boss of the Cambridgeshire County League club following their season-ending 1-0 victory against Cambridge City Development in the Kershaw Premier Division – a result gained thanks to a first-half goal from Matt Gearing.

“This club has been my life every Saturday since I was a young lad,” said Ambler, whose number two Adam Burnley is also standing down after 30 years with the club.

“But this is the right time to go at the same time as my assistant and a lot of the players.

“Out of an 18-man squad only four of the lads said they were staying.

“We’ve got people who have issues with work, others who have travelled back to play after moving away and Martin Turner is retiring.

“I didn’t want to spend my summer chasing players and putting a whole new team together. It’s time for someone else to have a go.”

Ambler’s involvement at Brampton began as a teaboy when he was a youngster.

He played for and captained both the reserve and first teams before stepping up into management roles.

The club won the Hunts Intermediate Cup and enjoyed a best-ever league finish of third in the Kershaw Premier Division during his time in the hotseat.

But his final campaign has been a frustrating one with them languishing 13th – or fourth-bottom – of the top-flight.

Ambler added: “It’s been a disappointing season in which we just haven’t been good enough.

“We’ve had some injuries, but I’m not going to use them as an excuse. The harsh reality is that we have under-achieved hugely.”

Brothers Richard and Sam Argyle will replace Ambler in the hotseat.

Richard had a previous spell in charge of the Brampton reserve side while Sam played for the club this season and is an ex-player/boss of Eaton Socon Reserves.

While the first-team struggled in 2018/19, Brampton Reserves have gained promotion from Division 2B.

They were assured of a runners-up finish before beating Burwell Swifts Reserves 4-1 in their penultimate outing last Saturday.

It was a triumph which featured a sixth hat-trick of the campaign from hot-shot Ellis Ogle who also hit six goals in one game during a prolific season.

The Cambridgeshire County League campaign ended with a memorable first for one local player.

Hemingfords United Reserves man Ryan Lambert struck the first two goals of his career in a 2-0 victory against Chatteris Town Reserves in Division 1B.

The 34 year-old has represented the club for 15 years.