Jack Pearce has quit as Bognor chairman and warned the club could he heading for County League football.

Pearce was replaced in charge by former vice-chairman Tom Martin at the club's annual meeting.

He will remain as first team manager and is preparing a side to face Albion in a Nyewood Lane friendly tom-orrow.

Pearce ended his ten-year stint as chairman because he was not convinced he could find the finance to keep the club at its current level.

Bognor last season announ-ced a share issue which Pearce believes could help the club back to former glories, when they frequently won the Senior Cup and went on extended FA Cup runs.

But he warned: "If it is a failure, I believe the club will drop through the divisions until it finds a level within its financial budget, which will most probably mean County League football."

Pearce claimed that, in his role of chairman and manager, he was left wide open to criticism when the side struggled against relegation from Ryman division one last term.

He said: "Supporters moaning isn't a problem because they have no idea of the problems I have to contend with but, when people closer to the club criticise, you realise how short some people's memories are.

"We are the only senior team from Weymouth to Hastings and 20 miles inland who are still playing at the same standard, with improved facilities, within the same structure and who have not sold their ground, gone bankrupt, folded completely or had individuals inject thousands upon thousands of pounds.

"This is something I will always be very proud of."

Pearce is struggling to send out a strong side to tackle Albion's first team.

Jamie Howell is recovering from a hernia operation, defenders Alec Masson and Neil Winter have left the club and a handful of players are on holiday.

Former Havant striker Nick Wyatt is likely to be given a chance to impress.

BRENTFORD have completed the signing of Crawley defender Jay Lovett in a deal worth £75,000. The 22-year-old signed a three-year contract after completing a medical at Griffin Park yesterday.