Former Albion defender John Crumplin has been placed in caretaker charge at Crawley Down.

Crumplin has been handed the reigns following the resignations of joint managers Darren Barker and Alan Watson.

Barker, who returned for a second spell as joint boss with Watson in the summer, has stepped down because of increased work commitments after set ting up his own business six months ago.

Chairman Brian Suckling has kept the door open for him to return in the future.

Suckling said: "The club has agreed with Darren to allow him to fully concentrate on his business until after Christmas and not have any direct involvement in team affairs other than in an advisory roll.

"Darren and I will be discussing the needs of the club weekly and will always put the interests of the club first and if this leads to the appointment of someone else then so be it.

"Alan has been doing the work of two recently and has always made it clear to me that this season was probably going to be his last in the role of team management. The fact that he has now decided to bring this forward is completely understood and I happen to believe it is a very unselfish decision to have made solely for the club's interest at large.

"Life at the club goes on and we have acted quickly to appoint John Crumplin as caretaker manager until further notice. It's John's intention to continue playing so he will be supported on match days by club physio Gerry Gurr and club scout Chris Snelling.

"When you consider the experience the club can call on at times like these we have every reason to be optimistic for this season."

Anyone interested in the position should contact Suckling on 07831 294445.

On Saturday, Crawley Down lost 1-0 to Peacehaven in the Division Two Cup. James Devers, recently snapped up from Brighton League division four side AFC Stadium, got the only goal on 30 minutes after linking well with Dan Hamilton.