Pike: Borough were right to sack me

Pike admitted he was not in the right frame of mind to be in charge at the Southern League premier division outfit.

However, he insists he is now ready give his all for the Privett Park club again.

‘Sometimes it takes someone from outside to look in and gauge a situation,’ said Pike.

‘Iain did that and he was absolutely right to get rid of me.

‘I didn’t realise how some personal circumstances had affected me and how much I had been brow beaten by the problems at the club.

‘The financial problems meant the tools to be able to do the job properly had been taken away from me.

‘I had lost my head and was probably on auto-pilot. Iain did the right thing.

‘But having had three months away from the club and talking to the new owners my batteries have been recharged.

‘I want to come back to this football club and once again give it success.

‘Maybe then people will look at it and recognise me as a good manager at Gosport.’

Pike has been the subject of considerable criticism since his reappointment.

Some fans believe he is largely responsible for the clubs’ problems.

They feel Pike, alongside former chairman Mark Hook, overstretched the club financially and put it at risk.

But the returning boss is adamant he had little involvement in money matters during his previous spell at Privett Park.

‘Social media has been going red hot since I came back,’ added Pike.

‘The problem I had was I became a director of the football club to protect my investment.

‘Mark Hook, who is a friend of mine, asked me to lend the club money.

‘Consequently, Mark – in his own words – became the toxic brand and I got tarred with the same brush.

‘Any time any decisions were made other than football, I left the room.

‘The most annoying thing levelled at me is I overspent on budgets.

‘I have never ever overspent on budget.

‘Now I believe I have got the board and the tools to bring success back to the club.

‘I have brought success to the club in the past and the plan is to do it again.’

Iain McInnes, who completed his takeover of Borough last week, quashed rumours linking Mark Hook with a return to the club.