BAMBER Bridge FC have been thrown into turmoil following the shock resignation of manager Jimmy Willis.

Willis quit the post less than two months after replacing Tony Greenwood, who was sacked as boss of the cash-strapped Unibond Premier League outfit.

Ex-Leicester City defender Willis, and his assistant, brother Paul Willis, quit after being told that they would have to take a pay cut along with 14 players.

Reserve team boss Paul Byron has taken over as manager of the struggling Irongate club, and has a huge task on his hands if he is to save them from relegation.

Byron said: "I've taken the job fully knowing the position we are in, so I am not complaining.

"I have set the lads a 25 to 30 point target from this Saturday until the end of the season, and hopefully that will be enough to keep us up."

Byron's job has been made even more difficult as eight players brought in by Willis have failed to turn up to training since his departure.

Byron said: "It's disappointing because I was told that they all wanted to stay. The next day I found out that none of them were coming back."

The no-show players include Leon Mills, Dennis Foynes, Ian Garvin and Willis's brother, Scott Willis.

Although Byron has his hands firmly tied by the financial constraints at the club, he has wasted little time in looking for replacements to help the club's battle against the drop.

"I have spoken to Steve McMahon and Morecambe manager Jim Harvey among others about bringing in some players on loan, and I hope to have four or five new faces in the next couple of weeks. Steve McMahon has been very helpful and offered me a player that might surprise some people.

"He is a 34-year-old midfielder who I used to play with a while ago. The only problem is we would have to pay one third of his wages, which is far more than we can afford, and a number of Football League clubs are now looking at him."

Brig have suffered several setbacks of late, not least when the wage bill was halved and six contracted players released in November, then within a fortnight Greenwood and assistant Phil Entwistle were sacked.

The decision to cut the wage bill again came a week after 150 members at an EGM gave support for survival measures including plans to become a limited company.

David Spencer, involved with Bamber Bridge for 25 years and chairman for two years, said of this development: "Committee run clubs are few and far between these days.

"We have sought advice from the Unibond League and the Football Association, and the general consensus is that to secure the future of the club we need to become a limited company.

"Discussions are now well underway and will be on-going."