JUSTIN Merritt admitted his decision to step down as first-team manager at Oxford City had been a difficult one.

Mark Jones will take over first team duties on a caretaker basis, but Merritt will remain very much involved behind the scenes as general manager.

Merritt took charge for the final time on Saturday as City were thrashed 6-0 by Hungerford Town in Vanarama National League South and admitted it was not the way he wanted to sign off.

“It was a shame to go out with that one,” he said.

“In some ways that made it harder, because I just wanted to get back out on the training pitch this week and make it better.

“It was a very difficult decision and quite a sad one, but unfortunately I just felt I couldn’t give everything to the team.

“There are a lot of big changes that have to happen, in a positive way, and I think it’s not right to try and take charge of the team while there’s so much to be done.”

Since the sudden death of former managing director Colin Taylor in July, Merritt has been forced to take on greater responsibilities in the running of the club.

City staved off a winding-up order brought by HM Revenue & Customs in September over an unpaid tax bill, highlighting the scale of Merritt’s task to make the club sustainable.

“There’s lot to be done away from the football side,” he said.

“We’re putting structures in place that will help us stabilise the club at this level, including restructuring our ownership.

“The club still runs today in much the same way it did when we were just a small amateur club and we need business people involved to bring us into line with our current standing.”

With Jones taking charge of matters on the field, Merritt is now free to focus his attentions on securing the investment to make that happen.

He said: “We’ve been in discussions with potential investors for several months, but it’s not a quick process.

“We have lots of positive options and it’s just a matter of making sure that we do what is best for the football club.

“I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve done in the last two or three years.

“Hopefully we can to carry that on and make it even better in the future.”