Gloucester City 3 Worcester City 0.

AFTER more than two decades of blood, sweat and tears for Worcester City, this was not the way Carl Heeley would have wanted it to end.

Since arriving at the club in 1994, Heeley has unquestionably given his all – and more – as a defender, captain, assistant boss and in the last seven years as a manager.

He skippered City to the Southern League Cup in 2001 and guided them to the FA Cup second round with a memorable 2-1 win over Coventry City 13 years later.

But on Saturday, Heeley, who has represented the club on more than 900 occasions, looked like a man who simply could not give anymore.

Gloucester City extend their rivals’ winless streak in Vanarama National League North to 10 matches with an emphatic victory at Whaddon Road, which left Worcester’s long-serving boss seriously considering stepping down.

It seems hard to imagine City without Heeley, affectionately known as 'King Carl' among supporters.

But that prospect looks set to become reality unless chairman Anthony Hampson and his board can persuade him to stay.

If he remains in place, the 48-year-old must find a way of stopping City’s wretched run of form before they get sucked into the relegation zone, which they are five points and two places clear of.

Although they have not won in the league since November 12, Worcester and Heeley were at least able to pride themselves on a solid defence.

However, their defensive wall was smashed down by Gloucester’s aerial assault as they kept peppering long balls into the box until their opponents cracked.

Sam Oji, who has come on leaps and bounds since his horror show against the Tigers in August, was made to look abject again.

On 18 minutes, the experienced defender’s failure to deal with a lofted delivery from Ross Finnie gifted Luke Hopper a great chance.

And the striker, who scored a hat-trick last time out, made no mistake as he then pounced on a spill from Ethan Ross to slot the ball home.

Oji’s afternoon was turning into a nightmare as he was at fault for Gloucester’s second on 36 minutes. This time, he headed the ball into the path of Finnie who rifled it into the bottom corner.

Despite the return of veteran James Chambers, City were all over the place defensively.

With Cieron Keane suspended and fellow wingers Micah Evans and Connor Hughes out injured, Worcester had no width and Gloucester made the most of it in the first half.

Striker Colby Bishop kept plugging away and Jordan Keane showed plenty of desire in midfield as the visitors came into the contest after the break.

But having netted just twice in a barren January, it was perhaps no surprise Jasbir Singh went largely untested in Gloucester’s goal.

And considering City’s record in the Severn Derby, many travelling supporters would not have been shocked by the outcome.

With six minutes remaining, Kieran Thomas got to the by-line before the ball fell to an unmarked Joe Hanks who smashed home from 10 yards out to wrap up a 10th win in 11 meetings against Heeley’s men.