BRACKNELL Town have parted company with Sam Lock after just five months in charge at Larges Lane, writes Dave Wright.

Chairman Kayne Steinborn-Busse said "the team has lost its identity" as well being concerned about an alarming drop in attendances at home matches.

The club's director of football and previous manager Mark Tallentire along with head coach, Aaron Steadman, took charge of the side for their Velocity Trophy tie at Westfield last night (Tuesday).

Tallentire has managed the Robins before with great success, while Steadman was appointed at the same time as Lock, who in May became the club's seventh manager since 2014.

A decision over the future of assistant manager Michael Butcher has still to be made, but analysis and performance coach Matt Stannard has left the club.

The former Maidenhead United assistant manager's departure follows a particularly disappointing performance last Saturday when Town lost 2-1 at Chertsey after being made to look second best for long periods of the game.

Even Lock admitted their display was "nowhere near the levels we had set ourselves" and, through the News, he offered an apology to the fans who attended the game.

Explaining the decision to part company with the manager just five months into a two-year contract, Steinborn-Busse said: "Our team has lost its identity. We no longer out-run and out-pass our opposition and we don't put the balls into the right channels."

Several fans complained about the team Lock fielded, which included a new goalkeeper James Hoskins from Watford U23s, and new forwards Owen James from Oxford United and Anthony Mendy from Wingate and Finchley, while leaving regulars Dan Carr and Joe Gater on the bench.

Town badly missed the likes of keeper Mark Scott and winger Seb Bowerman, both due to injury, and Nathan Minhas who was unwell at the weekend.

Things have not been made easy for Lock due to the club's long injury list which meant he was never able to field a settled side and this contributed to a mixed bag of results, including early exits from the FA Cup and FA Trophy.

Town currently lie ninth in the Isthmian League's South Central Division with 14 points from nine games, of which four were won and two drawn.

The dressing room has been like a revolving door with players coming and leaving, and there doesn't seem to be anything like the same team spirit which existed last season.

Steinborn-Busse added: "We need to urgently re-establish the team's identity, and have put Mark and Aaron in charge of steadying the ship."

The chairman is also concerned about the attendances at home matches which have dropped from 352 at the start of the season to under 200.

He said: "It has become very clear in recent weeks fans have stopped following us in large numbers which means we need to turn things around on and off the field."