Great Yarmouth have been rocked by the resignations of manager Kevin Cruickshank and reserve boss Eden Rudling. They made their decisions after being informed that Paul Tong would return as the first team manager next season along with a restructuring of the management team.

Great Yarmouth have been rocked by the resignations of manager Kevin Cruickshank and reserve boss Eden Rudling.

They made their decisions after being informed that Paul Tong would return as the first team manager next season along with a restructuring of the management team.

The three managers had a falling-out over the selection of players for a reserve game earlier this year, leading to Tong resigning as

joint-manager.

Cruickshank and Rudling felt their positions would be untenable if Tong returned as manager, and after a great deal of heart-searching decided to call it a day.

For Cruickshank, it was a particularly painful decision after 22 years at the club where he started as an A-team player and rose through the ranks eventually to first-team manager when Nick Banham resigned in November 2007.

Chairman Stephen Brierley said: "I have nothing but admiration for the way Kevin has stuck with the club through 22 years. I couldn't have done what he's done in that time.

"Paul is obviously the vastly more experienced manager and I was hoping Kevin would stay on as No 2 and continue his development as a manager because we have certainly seen him move forward."

Instead of waiting until the summer, Tong made an immediate return on Tuesday, taking charge of the team at Swaffham where a 4-1 success boosted promotion hopes.