Abingdon Town have been left in turmoil after the management team of boss Nobby Hayward, director of football Paul Lee and first-team coach Kelvin Alexis quit after just one season.

It is understood the decision centres around a row over the leasing agreement with the club's owners Oracle Leisure (Neath) Limited.

When the company bought the Culham Road ground in 2003, they leased it back to the club for 25 years.

It is understood the agreement contained a clause which allowed them to buy Abingdon Town's name and take over the lease for £1.

But now it seems that the owners of the 135-year old club want to exercise the option.

Lee, who took the club to the Hellenic League championship in 1990 in his first spell at the club, said: "Had we known about the clause, we would never have come here.

"It's very disappointing, because we felt that we finished the season with the strongest squad of players for many years."

He added: "The committee also had a business plan in place to secure the future of the club.

"And we had arranged pre-season friendlies against four professional clubs, one of which is a Premiership club, which would have been very lucrative.

"We feel let down by certain people at the club - not the committee as a whole.

Hayward added: "I spoke to the then chairman (Phil Evans) a couple of games before the end of the season about the situation - we didn't even know what league we were going to play in.

"He assured me that it would all be sorted. But I've heard nothing from him since then.

"I think we have been shabbily treated - we didn't even get an end-of-season presentation night.

"I did enjoy my time working with the players there, but the way it has ended has left me with a bitter taste in my mouth."

Evans, who resigned as chairman in April, said: "I'm not sure what's happening.

"I resigned because I felt I had been there long enough. I had a happy relationship with the committee - we parted on the best of terms.

"People knew this was my last season."

Asked whether he was part of the team that signed the leasing arrangement with Oracle, he said; "I am no longer connected with the club and I am not prepared to comment.

Evans said he understood a new chairman would be elected on June 14 when the club holds an extraordinary general meeting.

It looks as though the club secretary for the past 20 years, Ted Quail, is likely to step down.

He said: "I was prepared to stay on as secretary, as long as the present organisation continued. But I understand the new regime wants to bring in their own people.

"There's not much we can do about it - everything seems to be signed and sealed. It's a very sad situation."

Quail said they only discovered the option a couple of weeks ago.

"I can say, on behalf of the majority of the committee, we knew nothing about these arrangement.

"We only found out when someone was looking at the lease," he added.