NEWPORT County's end of season slump and managerial dismissal leaves the Exiles board at a crossroads that will make or break their ambitions to push up the football pyramid.

Making decisive and clear decisions on the future will allow them to build on the work of Peter Beadle and Scott Young and chase promotion to the Promised Land of the Conference next term.

However, there is also a grave danger of this current squad being ripped apart in a sea of uncertainty, the new manager facing a total rebuilding job and next season becoming a write-off before it has even begun.

However, first things first and it would be remiss of me not to comment on the departure of Beadle.

As several of our resident internet snipers have pointed out, I enjoyed a very good working relationship with him and fully believed that he was the right man to take County up at least one division.

The end of season capitulation that scuppered the Exiles caught me utterly by surprise, my trip to cover the Calzaghe fight was concluded in time for the Conference South play-offs and I fully expected to be there.

This is not a forum for me to simply sit on a soapbox and pass judgement on the decision, the Newport County board did what they thought was right for the club.

They have poured (and will continue to do so) thousands of pounds of their own money into running the Exiles and cracks in the relationship between manager and board have been widening for a matter of months. It was a tough call to make and they made it - simple as that.

However, this is most certainly the right place to comment on the absolutely dreadful manner in which Beadle was dismissed.

Indeed, it seems almost impossible that men as decent as Messrs Blight and Colin Everett would sanction Beadle's sacking in such a classless and arrogant manner.

The announcement of his dismissal was sent out to supporters via County's E-News service on Sunday (following a meeting where the sacking was unanimously agreed), with talk of County wallowing in the Conference South.' The statement went on to make it clear that Beadle had failed in the minimum requirement of claiming a playoff spot ninth place is simply not good enough for Newport County.' But where was the gratitude? And since when do Newport County have a divine right to expect success yesterday?

At no point since his dismissal has Beadle been thanked for his efforts in the past 30 months. Even John Cornforth received a fonder farewell.

Have we all forgotten that Beadle has left the club as a consequence of failing to live up to the expectations he himself set?

Mismanagement by Cornforth, coupled with a new board very much in their infancy, meant that Beadle took over a side destined for relegation.

He miraculously saved the club from the drop and in the following campaign took them to the brink of the playoffs, as well as the final of the FAW Premier Cup and the First Round of the FA Cup.

This year County beat Swansea, won at Cardiff and took the lucrative £100,000 for winning the FAW Premier Cup, only to once again fall just short in the league (they finished ninth, but only three points from the play-offs).

Surely that list of achievements deserves a thank you, a slap on the back and an endorsement for any future employers of Beadle?

Football is a cut-throat industry and the financial demands and pressures are greater than ever, but have we now got to the stage where common courtesy and gratitude no longer apply?

Later this week Beadle will break his silence and comment on his dismissal, surely mindful of not appearing bitter as he seeks further employment in football. But the lack of gratitude he has received from Spytty Park will surely have stung him greatly.

The only promise he made in joining the club was to leave them in a better state than he found them and he undeniably succeeded in that brief.

Now we move on and it is imperative that Blight and Co make brave decisions as quickly as possible.

Blight's indication that he is ready to bring a football person into the fold at board level is extremely encouraging, for too long decisions have been made for all the right reasons, but with mixed results I refer the right honourable gentlemen to Mr John Cornforth.

But it is also important that if a director of football is brought in, that the manager who is appointed is not simply a yes man, or a manager whose best days are long gone.

It has taken Eastbourne Borough boss Garry Wilson nine-and-a-half years to take the club to the brink of the Conference, while in the football league, Hereford United - the ideal template of success for a club like Newport - have stuck with boss Graham Turner for 13-years, through relegations as well as promotions.

The Newport County board are loyal, ambitious and always quick to acknowledge their own short-comings and now is the time for them to look towards the long-term.

They must replace Beadle as quickly as possible to allow for a semblance of continuity with regard to the playing staff, while also being mindful of appointing their next managerial team not for the next year, but for the next decade.

Never before have they appointed from a position of strength and as a consequence they simply must get this decision right.

Otherwise they might be "wallowing," at their current level for some time to come.

Former County favourite Richard Walden, who played nearly 200 games for the club from 1978 to 1982, is in hospital after being diagnosed with leukemia.

A polished right-back, who was a regular member of the team that earned promotion from Division Four and won the Welsh Cup, is facing a long battle against the illness.

Anyone wishing to send messages of support can contact him at the following address: Richard Walden, c/o 2 Forge Cottages, The Street, Crookham Village, Fleet, Hampshire GU13 0SG.

Get well soon Richard.