ALAN Dyton says he did not have the motivation to carry on as Shrivenham joint boss in the 2010/11 season.

The experienced campaigner re-joined the club at the start of the year to work alongside Mark Love at the helm, but has now stepped aside.

”I always went back on the understanding that it was until the end of the season and we would assess it from there,” explained Dyton.

“I was hoping that in the games I was at the club, I would get a lot of enthusiasm back, but it was a struggle.

“It’s been well-publicised the way I felt about players’ unavailability, that hasn’t helped. And the results didn’t turn around as quickly as I felt they would.”

Having thought long and hard about how the last few months, Dyton felt his enjoyment levels had not been enough to drive him into another campaign.

“I don’t think what I’ve got out of the second half of the season has been sufficient to make me look forward to another season,” he said.

“If I haven’t got a buzz about me then I think that’s the wrong attitude to take into a new season with the club.

“A year is a long time to commit and if you’re not into it now, what’s it going to be like if things go wrong?”

Meanwhile, Shrivenham have given their pitch at the Rec a complete facelift in preparation for the new season.

The club have put up around £14,000 to replace their much-derided surface, with the work going ahead last week.

Chairman Robb Forty said: “We’ve been needing to address our pitch for some time but we’ve had to make lots of other improvements the FA have told us to make, like enclosing the ground and putting in new floodlights.

“We thought this year we would attack the pitch and that is what we’ve done.

“With the way it’s looking now, hopefully we’ll go from having one of the worst pitches in the Hellenic League to one of the best.

“Even without grass on it you can see it’s a vast improvement already.

“In the current climate the fact that we have done it is a credit to the club and the hard work of the committee to raise the money.”

n PAUL Merson will be Shrivenham’s special guest when the club hosts a sporting dinner on Monday, June 7.

The event will take place at Blunsdon House Hotel and tickets are £45 each or £450 for a table of 10.

For further details contact Alan Thomas on 07850 511986 or James Dore on 07775 933076.

The club will also hold a golf day at Shrivenham Park on the weekend of June 26/27, with the exact date to be confirmed.

For further details contact Paul Whitewood on 07813 536128 or Matt Hirst on 07711 263113.