CREWE FC boss Ian O'Reilly will not resign despite seeing his side relegated from the top flight of the Mid-Cheshire League.
Saturday's 2-0 defeat to Rylands sealed their fate even before Monday's 1-1 draw with Greenalls Padgate St Oswald's. O'Reilly is still struggling to come to terms with the first relegation of his managerial career but insists he will not desert the sinking ship.
He said: 'I won't pretend it hasn't crossed my mind because I was low on Saturday night and Sunday. I have never been relegated before and it is the most horrible feeling I've had in football.
'It was the saddest day I can remember and there was a few moments when I thought I could do without it. But I won't quit, it is not in my nature.
'The draw with Padgate, who are a good team, put a smile back on my face and I have already started to look at organising pre-season friendlies and think about bringing in players.
'We left it far too late to start picking up points this season, but we do have some good lads. We will look to bounce straight back.'
The two cup runs, which ended in the capture of the Crewe FA Cup and the Division One President's Cup, look to have taken their toll on the dismal league campaign, which has yielded just six wins with one to play.
A total of 14 players were unavailable for Saturday's crunch game, many through fatigue and injury. Fewer turned up for Monday's academic fixture, but Dave Hanson's late equaliser provided some cheer.
Crewe FC's committee will meet in the coming weeks for a review of the season, and they have the power to relieve O'Reilly of the role he has held since the club formed six years ago.
But it is highly unlikely they could find someone with equal commitment and dedication to a cause which takes a great deal of grassroots football knowledge and comes at a not insignificant personal financial cost.
In fact, O'Reilly has comfortably kept the club in Division One in the past, and he feels that had the players mirrored the desire which he exudes, they may not be in Division Two next season.
He explained: 'They are a great set of lads, but I do feel sometimes it doesn't hurt them as much as it hurts me. It is a difficult climate they play in. It is not their job. But at times you feel if it had meant a bit more, we would have done better this season.'
