The 55-year-old has managed the Old Gold and Blacks in 336 games since arriving at Greens Meadow in March 2013.

Andrews guided the club to their first-ever promotion by winning the Thurlow Nunn League First Division title in 2017 - Stow’s first league title in 66 years.

Stowmarket held an unbeaten record at the top of the Premier Division before last season’s curtailment due to Covid-19 in March, while in February the club played in the last 16 of the Buildbase FA Vase for the first time.

Last month the Stow manager led the club to its 38th unbeaten league game in a row - a new record in the Thurlow Nunn League - a streak which was extended to 39 games before the 2020/21 season was suspended due to the lockdown.

Andrews told https://stowmarkettownfc.co.uk: “It was a hard decision as my head is telling me it’s the right thing to do, while my heart is telling me I’m being silly for leaving now.

“I’ve given seven-and-a-half years of my life to the club. I’m proud of what we’ve been able to achieve as a club during that time and, in my opinion, I’m leaving the club in a better place to when I arrived.

“Walking around the club on matchdays and seeing the improvements we’ve made and the support we get from the fans makes me prouder than anything else.

“I don’t intend to be a stranger. I hope to get to some games when time allows, but all good things come to an end.

“I want to thank the club, the chairman, every single player that has played for me, all of our sponsors who have backed us, and all of the supporters for their support”.

Alex Moss