Bartestree chairman Paul Ingram on the club pulling out of the West Midlands (Regional) League

Dave Cadwallader's side were languishing at the bottom of Division One having lost their last 10 games.

And player unavailability meant they had to postpone both their Easter games – against Bustleholme on Saturday and Kington Town on Monday.

But Ingram, the chairman of Bartestree, believes the club can come back stronger next season.

"We're going to see where we go from here, but it's not the end of the club by any stretch of the imagination," said Ingram.

"Whether we are in West Midlands League Division Two or the Herefordshire Prem, I don't know, but we're not the first team to pull out and we won't be the last.

"Kington did it a couple of years ago and they have come back.

"We just need a loyal, regular bunch of players and are looking towards more of the youth section and bring them through."

Bartestree, formed in 1959, were elected to the West Midlands (Regional) League in 2012 following promotion from the Herefordshire Football League.

A successful Division Two campaign the following season saw them step up to Division One – where they finished third in 2013/14.

But the villagers' struggles started to show last year and they only stayed up on goal difference.

More problems occurred this campaign and Cadwallader was persuaded to return to the club and replace outgoing manager Chris Hayes.

Work at the ground saw a new small stand built to ensure Bartestree had the infrastructure in place to further climb up the football pyramid.

A revival in the league looked on the cards when the villagers won four out of six matches, but when the club returned to action in the New Year following a lengthy break caused by the wet weather, the losing run started.

"We really struggled to get a regular, loyal bunch together and to get a regular 11 players out," said Ingram.

"That has probably been the case the whole season.

"When we had our best 11 out, we were certainly capable of competing and only lost to Lads Club 1-0 twice and they are right up there.

"But we had a couple of management changes, which meant there was a bit of disruption, and we really struggled from thereon in.

"Caddy came back, but a number of players went and a couple of people, like Mark Hibbard, have retired.

"So, rather than keep postponing games, we had to be sensible and be fair to everyone by pulling out now."

Bartestree Reserves will continue playing in Herefordshire League Division Two and Ingram says the plan is still to have two teams next season.

"The problem was there was a large gap between the first team and the reserves in terms of standard," added Ingram.

"We had a couple of players who could help out, but that wasn't the answer.

"We're still hopeful of playing at a higher level, we just have to decide what to do and regroup.

"We want to concentrate on the 17 to 19 year old age group and to bring players through who will stick with us.

"But there will be no changes in terms of the manager.

"We supported him [Cadwallader] in the decision and it was a widely-held one.

"We have got a meeting over the summer to see what the set-up will be and what league we will be in."