HOOK Norton have withdrawn from the Uhlsport Hellenic League for next season.

Chairman Mike Barlow reluctantly made the decision due to a lack of assistance, which left him as the one remaining committee member.

It casts doubt over the future of the club, more than a century after it was founded.

“Hook Norton was founded in 1898 so after 119 years to pull the plug is not funny,” Barlow said.

“It costs quite a lot of money to run clubs, even at Hellenic League Division 1 level.

“It’s very difficult to raise that money if you are entirely dependent on sponsorship and you haven’t got a gang of people doing it.

“You need more than one person focused on it.

“I came to the conclusion that we just couldn’t go on. It was an extremely difficult decision.”

Barlow, 73, first became chairman in 2001 and has invested his own money to keep the club going.

He thanked others who had done the same, including Colette and Terry Warner.

Junior football at Hook Norton is a separate entity so their teams are unaffected, although as it stands they will have to look elsewhere for senior football.

The sad move comes with the side enjoying a successful spell on the pitch.

They missed out on promotion by a single point in April, although the dire circumstances off the field would have seen them turn it down.

In the previous season Hooky reached the FA Cup second qualifying round.

Frimley Green and Weston-super-Mare, two opponents during the run, have been among those to offer support in the last few days.

Barlow has been touched by the response, but needs more.

He said: “We’ve had a strong response, but you need somebody to come out of the woodwork and say ‘I’m willing to commit’.

“Even if we got something together for 2018/19 we run the risk of being forced by the FA to start again in the Oxfordshire Senior League Division 1.

“I’m willing to support some future direction, but I can’t do it all on my own.”