WEYMOUTH chief executive Martyn Harrison today denied that a major bust-up with Ian Ridley led to the chairman's shock resignation at the weekend.

In a statement issued exclusively to Echosport, the millionaire hotel chain owner insisted Ridley's role at the Wessex Stadium became untenable after a 'deal was done to save the club' in May.

That involved Harrison purchasing an 80 per cent stake in the Terras at a time when its future was threatened by a 'precarious financial position.'

Harrison explained: "I will miss Ian Ridley and his valuable contribution to this club. He has worked hard over the past 16 months. I did not ask Ian to go and, contrary to speculation, we did not have a major bust up.

"What we had here is a situation brought about by the deal that was done to save the club. With my agreement to purchase up to an 80 per cent stake in the club at the end of May, I asked Ian to stay on as chairman.

"It is however, regrettable but understandable that now the club is being run as a business with a full majority shareholder it was, in reality, always unlikely that Ian would find this set up completely tenable.

"As far as the last 16 months under Ian's leadership and the future of the club is concerned I personally find it amazing that some folk find it either difficult or even impossible to understand what has happened. To me the whole thing is quite clear.

"There is only one reason I was called upon by the current board to take over the full ownership of the club. If this reason needs to be spelt out, then the AGM later this year will be the place.

"When all of the facts are placed in the public domain I am sure the gravity of the club's situation back in May will be obvious.

"Myth and legend do not pay the wages. Unfortunately 'Living the Dream' is not always the reality - the reality is that the financial responsibility comes much higher in the pecking order than knowledge especially when our club was in such a precarious financial position."

Harrison, who has so far ploughed more than £700,000 into the club and guaranteed a bank overdraft of a further £100,000, says he has no desire to take up the chairman-ship.

"I'm not looking to become chairman," he said, "and it's not something I've given any thought to. At the moment we have just four board members - myself, Matthew McGowan, Tristan Murless and Chris Pugsley - and supporters' club representative Nigel Beckett.

"At some stage we will sit down to discuss the vacancy but I've no desire to be chairman."

Meanwhile Harrison today insisted Steve Claridge's position as Terras player-manager is 'safe for the time being'.

Fans had feared that Claridge might follow close friend Ridley through the Wessex Stadium exit door but Harrison is confident that won't happen.

He said: "Steve has already stated publicly that he will stay at the club despite Ian's departure and at the moment we have the budget to accommodate him. Whether that remains the case for the rest of his five-year contract is dependent on results and the level of support through the turnstiles.

"Having a high profile manager definitely has its benefits but it comes at a price. It's all about value for money and Steve's three goals against Bishop's Stortford on Saturday were exactly that.

"I have nothing but respect for Steve and I believe his knowledge and expertise will move Weymouth on to bigger and better things."

Full statement in Dorset Echo, Page 26