DORCHESTER Town chairman Scott Symes admitted it had been an emotional weekend for the Magpies after former boss Callum Brooks resigned from his post.

Brooks stepped away from his position after Saturday’s 3-0 loss to Met Police and first-team coach Jody Rivers has since been placed in temporary charge for tonight’s Bet Victor Southern Premier South clash at Gosport (7.45pm).

Speaking to Echosport, Symes described Brooks as a “top guy” and recognised his tireless efforts in attempting to turn around a run of one victory in 13 league games.

He said: “Myself and Callum talked quite a lot – it was a tug on the heartstrings without a shadow of a doubt when we spoke after the game.

“He’s a top, top guy and he put so much time and effort into trying to improve the results.

“He set himself, with me and the club, short-term targets to try to get a reaction but it was a step too far in that sense.”

Symes added: “He did an excellent job from when he first came in, if you look at what he achieved last season.

“Elements of what he’s achieved from pre-season and where we were from a recruitment perspective was great.

“At the end of the day, the old adage with football managers is you need to get points on the board and win games of football – that was proving elusive.”

Symes revealed there has been plenty of interest in the Magpies’ managerial vacancy.

“When they notice things aren’t going as planned, people will always offer their services prior to the event of Callum leaving,” he said.

“There’s plenty of people interested and there are people we’re interested in talking to. That will happen as sensibly and quickly as we possibly can over the next week.

“Dorchester have been finishing 17th on average for the last five years. It’s really important we find someone who can break the cycle and ensure we get to where we want to be this season, with a vision to the seasons after that.

“It’s a really important appointment – we have to consider the bigger picture.”

Dorchester are set to come up against former skipper Dan Strugnell, just five days after his departure for Gosport.

Tom Blair (ankle) is the Magpies’ only injury concern for the contest.