Bashley boss Geoff Butler can't help but wonder what 18 months with Steve Claridge in charge has cost his former club Weymouth.

Although Butler bears no grudge against Claridge for replacing him at the Wessex Stadium helm two summers ago, he always suspected the Terras' grand plans for the future were doomed to failure.

Butler is loving every minute of his new job at Bashley, but the anger of being sacked by Weymouth still rankles.

Despite battling against the odds to keep the Terras afloat in the old Dr Martens Premier Division, he was dismissed when the then chairman Ian Ridley joined the club and unveiled an ambitious five-year plan to take the club into the Football League.

Those dreams were made to look pretty stupid on Tuesday night when Weymouth were unceremoniously dumped out of the FA Cup by Thame United.

It was a result that abruptly ended the reign of former Pompey and Leicester striker Claridge, who was reportedly earning up to £100,000 a year as player-manager of the Conference South club.

Butler said: "Looking back, I can't believe how unlucky I was that Ian Ridley, who was no more than an enthusiastic amateur, came along with all these fabulous ideas for Weymouth and the supporters were taken in by it.

"You can't knock someone for being ambitious, but you've got to do it properly and you could see from a mile off that it would all end in tears, but what could I do? He had all the clout and I was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"I've got nothing against Steve Claridge. I'm not qualified to say what he's like as a manager, but the biggest asset they had in him was as a player. He was arguably the best striker in that league by a mile and he'll be a big loss to them."

Butler added: "I knew it wouldn't last, but I just wonder what the last 18 months has cost that football club. Where's it got them? What have they achieved?"

While names like Neil McNab, Frank Gregan, Mark Morris and Martin Rogers are already being bandied around as potential successors to Claridge, the uncomfortable thought for Bashley is that Butler is still highly regarded at Weymouth - and he is not under contract at the Recreation Ground.

The Terras faithful still appreciate how well he did to dig them out of a hole and will have noted that he has performed miracles again this season keeping Bash in the Ryman Division 1 promotion frame.

Bash, who made it four wins in a row by knocking Fleet out of the Hampshire Senior Cup on Tuesday, have doubts over Graeme Gee (knee) and Mat Jones (ankle) for tomorrow's league visit of Hastings United.

The match is being sponsored by Butler's old friend, Ricky Rogers, the ex-Mayor of Salisbury, who owns Rogers Building Services.