Dick Creasey has launched a passionate defence of the men who have followed his lead in quitting crisis-hit Wisbech Town.

The manager, two members of staff and six players have walked away from the Fenmen – who have also had to issue another budget cut – following the end of the season. Outraged supporters have labelled some of the departees as money-grabbers but Creasey is adamant those accusations are out of order.

The 57-year-old, who resigned on Tuesday, said: 'They're being called mercenaries but I can't accept that. A lot of the lads have been here for three to four seasons. They took the same sort of hit (on wages) two seasons ago. The fact is people go to work to earn money. And a lot of these lads, who are now getting settled in their lives, class their football as part of their income. Some (Adam Millson and Neal Spafford) have gone to a club (Spalding) at a higher level and I wish them well.

'Last season I did the job for nothing. Very often I dipped my hand in my own pocket to make up for any shortfall. I live 30 miles away from Wisbech, I'm self-employed so I often turned down work or got others to do stuff for me, so how people can say I milked the club is a joke. I've got a lot of affection for Wisbech, and I don't blame the club for anything that's happened. You can only work with what you've got to work with.'

Rumours surfaced last month that Creasey was going to call time on his second full-time stint in charge of Wisbech. But he quashed that speculation – only to complete a shock U-turn.

'I was going to resign and I was talked out of it by staff, some players and some supporters,' he added. 'Stupidly I said I would carry on – even though we and all of the players knew of the budget cut. I've got Wisbech at heart and I should never have let people influence me.'