An emotional Gordon Bartlett has been left "overwhelmed" by more than a hundred personal messages less than 24 hours after stepping down as Wealdstone manager - and still wishes he were the man to turn the club's early-season woes around.

The legendary 61-year-old ended a 22-year journey as the Stones boss last night, with the club teetering outside the National League South relegation zone after a 2-0 defeat to Chelmsford United on Saturday, which would prove the last of his 927 games in charge.

No one can say for sure, but Bartlett's tenure was perhaps prolonged by the legacy he had built around the club in that time, with a poor spell midway through last season bringing the first real clamour for change at Grosvenor Vale.

After taking the club from the duldrums of the Isthmian Third Division in 1995 to within touching distance of the National League Premier last year, the veteran manager concedes now might be the right time for a change at the top for the first time in more than two decades.

"I feel it's probably the right time," he told the Harrow Times. "I wish it could’ve been me who could carry on and turn it round. I’ve been offered another position with the club – I’ve been there for 22 years, and I want it to do well.

"It's been an emotional 24 hours. It’s been humbling for the messages I’ve received, personally and on social media. It’s been incredible, the reaction particularly from fellow managers and ex-players. That’s what you do find in football, we’re all in it together. It’s been overwhelming.

"Peter spoke to me over the weekend and it was finished on Monday. Saturday’s result did us no good at all. At the end of the day, it’s a results business. Last Monday, we were very unfortunate but on Saturday we were beaten by the better side.

"The financial position has changed at the club dramatically. Expectations go with that. I feel we brought in better quality players but haven’t done enough which has brought it to this situation. I believe many of those are capable of turning this around."

When Bartlett took over at Wealdstone, they were groundsharing with Edgeware Town, had a squad boasting only two players and were in administration.

But the then-young and still highly-rated manager took them to promotion within two years, before another followed the year after - and, amid all his memories of the club, still places that as among his proudest moments in charge.

"The first memory I'll always have is winning [Isthmian] Division Three," he said. "The celebrations down there were amazing, but so was finally winning the Premier League in 2014 at Margate.

"Then there's the play-off win against Dulwich to take us out of Division One, on penalties. That was fantastic.

"When I first came in, didn’t think there was any chance of me staying anywhere like this long. When you go into a job, it’s about 18 months or a couple of years you’re there these days, and I think I’ve had a reasonable innings."

A consummate professional to the end, the announcement of the managerial change - the biggest news release in Wealdstone's history - was timed to allow him a chance to say goodbye to his players first.

And the emotional bond within the dressing room is fitting testament to the club that Bartlett has played such a large part in moulding into its present form, with both the outgoing manager and his playing staff shedding tears in an emotional goodbye.

He said: "I told the players at 6.30pm, just as the press release went out. . I walked into the dressing room and was fine before I said I was leaving. Looking at them and into their eyes, that was emotional.

"There was a sense of disappointment and I shook everyone by the hand and they gave me a round of applauce which didn’t help! When you have been standing there for 22 years, it wasn’t my finest speech.

"There’s been a huge amount of building blocks and there’s a lot of people behind the scenes who do a great job – and the fans, of course. I might have been taking the plaudits but there’s a lot of other people there.

"It’s a unique football club and I have enjoyed our journey together immensely, but it’s time for me to get off. I look back with a lot of pride for the last 22 years."

As for the future, Saturday will be a unique day for both club and manager, with the dugout occupied by a different face for the first time this century.

A new role has been offered by chairman Peter Marsden, with Bartlett surely assured of a job for life at the Vale if he wants it, although he is not afraid to walk away from the club he has called home for so long.

While Wealdstone's season will continue, it will be a first weekend away from the job for 33 years in the Bartlett household - although some of the younger members may be more pleased than others to see it.

"I'm not likely to be at a game this weekend, I don't know what I'll do," Bartlett says, before adding: "I am a football addict though. I might go and watch my son play in the Surrey County League. I've been a bit busy recently.

"I’m definitely up for a new challenge. I’ve spoken about working with the football club, but that depends on who comes in, and how we can manage that for all parties.

"If I can help take Wealdstone to the next level, then so be it but if not then there might be another challenge for me."