Another Arsenal loanee has lost the manager that brought them to the club, after Steve Lovell resigned from Welling United on Monday.

Steve Lovell and Tristan Lewis with Welling United (Photo via WellingUnited.com)
Steve Lovell and Tristan Lewis with Welling United (Photo via WellingUnited.com)

Welling United released a club statement on Monday that manager Steve Lovell and assistant manager Tristan Lewis had both handed in their resignations, which had been accepted by the club. Arsenal youth goalkeeper Tom Smith is currently on loan with Welling.

The decision followed the weekend’s FA Cup exit, with Welling leaving the competition in the first fixture they played in it. They exited the cup with a 2-0 defeat to seventh-tier side Harrow Borough.

At this very early stage of the season, this is already the second manager of an Arsenal loanee to leave their post. Chris Hughton was sacked by Nottingham Forest, where Jordi Osei-Tutu is spending the season.

As we mentioned then, it’s obviously a complication to lose the manager that brought you in, especially when you’re just a loanee. If the new boss joins thinking of the long-term, they may prefer to play someone who will be at the club beyond the current campaign.

Smith will probably be alright, though. Welling aren’t blessed with a huge number of goalkeeping options, and they even had to bring in an emergency loan keeper to cover during Smith’s recent injury.

There may be a few weeks of uncertainty, but you’d hope the teenager will remain Welling’s number one for now.