UNCERTAINTY surrounding Worcester City during the season was “off putting” for players, admits captain Danny Jackman.

The Worcester-born midfielder has lifted the lid on City’s “mentally tough” campaign which ended in relegation from National League North.

Jackman, who was also caretaker assistant boss, said he was “devastated” Worcester failed to avoid the drop for the first time in 32 years.

And he admitted City’s off-the-field problems did not help his side’s cause as they took their battle for survival to the wire.

“It is really mentally tough not knowing what is going on and the situation the club is in,” Jackman said.

“Although you try to be as professional as you can by doing what is right on the pitch, you sometimes don’t know what is going on off it and that can be off putting.

“But we have all had jobs to do and we have not quite done that this year, so it is really disappointing.”

Shortly after Carl Heeley ended his seven-year reign in late January, Worcester put all the squad up for transfer in a bid to cut costs.

Rumours then began to circulate about cash-strapped City taking voluntary relegation as top scorer Lee Hughes joined AFC Telford United in February.

Meanwhile, Jackman stepped up to assist caretaker boss John Snape as they tried to galvanise their troops.

Although the Blue and Whites fought hard, they could not retain their sixth-tier status as champions AFC Fylde condemned them to the drop on the final day of the season.

“We got stuck in a rut and having to get rid of players hasn’t helped,” Jackman added.

“Not really being able to strength and bring anyone in also hasn’t helped.

“If you look at the bench (against Fylde) we had so many youngsters and it was not fair to put them in a high pressure situation.

“We have tried to give them as much game-time as we possibly can to prepare them for next year.

“But we needed a little bit more help. We have had to go with what we have got.

“We have tried our best, but ultimately that’s not been good enough.”

The 34-year-old has made more than 100 appearances for City - who have dropped three levels to play in Midland League Premier Division next season.

“Any relegation is hard to take, especially when it is your home-town team,” Jackman said.

“Everyone is gutted and I am devastated.

“We played some good stuff (against Fylde), made loads of chances and just couldn’t score to finish the game off or give ourselves a chance.

“That’s been the story of at least the last two or three months of the season.

“We have always given our all, but we have just lacked that little bit of cutting edge up front. The loss of Hughesy highlighted that even more.

“If he played (on the final day) he may have got a couple. We created some fantastic chances, but it was not to be.

“I couldn’t fault any of the lads though.”