Paul Doswell says his life as Sutton United manager had been fast approaching meltdown since the departures of coaches Paul Telfer, Wayne Shaw and Steve McKimm.

Head coach Telfer left the Lane in March for a new life in the US, and goalkeeping coach Shaw was released by the club following an altercation with Kingstonian fans in December.

Meanwhile, in the summer McKimm moved out from beneath Doswell’s wing as first team coach to take the managerial reins at Tonbridge Angels.

In their place came Peter Beadle, Jamie Lawrence and Matt Lockwood – all three have left for differing reasons, although all three were identical in lacking one thing their predecessors possessed.

Now, having taken on Ian Baird as head coach, and promoting chief scout Steve Beck to the coaching staff, Doswell is convinced he has replaced what was missing.

He said: “I live on the south coast and the bottom line was I needed a support base that could travel to games and training in the car with me.

“Paul lived next door to me and last year he came to everything with me, which enabled us to have good time to chat and also meant I was not doing all the driving.

Surrey Comet:

Fresh-faced: Paul Doswell with Steve McKimm in 2009

“Wayne lived nearby and we’d all drive to training and matches together.

“Without that support, I drove a 180-mile round to Burgess Hill Town on my own, the day before I’d driven 100 miles to Poole to watch them play Bath on my own.

“It’s a long time to spend contemplating things on your own, and it’s a lot of driving to do on your own.”

He added: “My relationship with Steve had grown over seven years and we’d become good friends.

Reaction to last weekend's 2-2 draw with Bishop's Stortford

“So it’s fair to say I’d gone from several years as manager with a settled team around me, to all of a sudden being unsettled and facing doing a lot on my own.”

While Doswell and Beadle parted company over a difference of opinion, Lawrence and Lockwood fell foul of the manager’s logistical needs.

There was also the added financial pressure of an aborted run in the FA Cup, and the need to cut the Lane cloth accordingly.

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Doswell said: “I want to emphasise what a good job Jamie did on the conditioning and fitness side in the summer, and then on the coaching side as the season went on, but we had to make changes for budgetary reasons.

“With Matt it was different. There was never any question over his commitment but he lived in Scotland and while we hoped he would move back to the south, it just didn’t happen.

“It was always a ‘suck it and see’ with Matt, we both knew there was a chance it would not work, so we could look each other in the eye and shake on it.

Surrey Comet:

Stuttering start: Peter Beadle, far left, and Jamie Lawrence, second left, preside over Sutton United's pre-season friendly at AFC Wimbledon

“But his commitment while with us was tremendous – he once caught a 6am flight from Edinburgh and still missed a Tuesday night game at Whitehawk.

“There was another time when the plane was cancelled and he drove eight hours through the night to us, and you cannot drive from Edinburgh to Sutton and expect to be fresh.”

He added: “Ian [Baird] and Steve [Beck] have come in and doing it for next to nothing. They live near me and obviously I know them well.

“They will be able to provide the support network I need, share the driving and the ideas, and I cannot wait to get started.”