ALMOST exactly a year after becoming Aldershot Town’s eighth permanent manager, Barry Smith has opted not to take up a new contract and his last match in charge will be the final fixture of the season at Bromley this Saturday.

Smith, 42, a former Dundee and Alloa Athletic manager, was appointed on a one-year rolling contract after the departure of Andy Scott and a 15-game caretaker spell by Chris Barker, who became Smith’s assistant.

Despite a difficult first campaign – Aldershot are 16th in the National League, seven points off the drop zone – Smith was offered a new contract, but on Monday it was announced that he was leaving for ‘personal and family reasons’.

“I’m very grateful that the board of directors have shown such confidence in me and wanted me to extend my contract for next season, but I had to make a decision for my family,” said Smith, who told the board of his plans on Friday. “The directors have given me their full backing throughout the season, but have also understood why I needed to make this decision to return to Scotland.

“I am, though, totally focussed on getting a result against Bromley this weekend.”

Aldershot chairman Shahid Azeem said: “I would like to thank Barry for his honesty in making what must have been a very difficult decision. We are sorry to lose him, but recognise that some things are more important than football.

“He made a big commitment in moving to the area with his wife and young son.”

Barry Smith, who played for Celtic and Dundee during a distinguished career, had seven years of managerial experience behind him, having been particularly successful at Dundee, when he joined Aldershot.

But it was his first job outside Scotland and he perhaps struggled with the rather different challenges of the National League, even with the insider knowledge of his assistant.

Inconsistency was the key word. To date, Aldershot have won eight times on their travels. Perversely, they have lost 12 times at home, winning just seven games in front of their own fans who held out banners emphasising that dismal home record last Saturday as the Shots lost to Southport.

Given the strength of their squad, there is no doubt that Aldershot have under-performed. Three consecutive wins in January gave hope that they could yet make a push for the play-off places, but a string of dispiriting results over the next two months left them well off the pace and looking nervously over their shoulders.

Now a familar scenario unfolds, with Shahid Azeem heading the search for a new manager and names such as Terry Brown and Gary Waddock already being bandied about.