Chris Reape insists he has left Silsden in a better position than when he took over.

Former Cobbydalers managers Andy Geary and Paul Schofield have taken temporary charge after Reape stepped down from his position at the helm following a run of seven straight defeats.

That left them 16th in the North West Counties League Premier Division before the festive period but the departed former chief believes Silsden are still capable of achieving a top-ten finish.

Reape said: “Results have not being going our way, I can accept that. But the lads are good lads and I think they will finish in the top ten. They are just on a bad run at the moment.

“I feel I have left the team a lot stronger than when I first went there. The club was on its knees when I came in.”

The former Bradford City apprentice took over at Silsden in November 2009 with the Cobbydalers in crisis, having suffered a player exodus and losing their main sponsor.

But he steered them to safety that season and the club have since consolidated in the top flight, coming just three points from their highest-ever finishing position last season.

Reape had high hopes the club could build on that progress this season and three wins out of the first four games in October, including the 7-1 thrashing of St Helens, suggested that looked possible.

But a nightmare run – not helped by numerous postponements – has seen them lose seven on the bounce since their last win on October 20.

Two further postponements – Boxing Day at home to Colne and Saturday at Barnoldswick Town – means that Geary and Schofield are still waiting to take charge for the first time.

On the split, Reape said: “It had been on my mind for a while and I spoke with Sean (McNulty, Silsden chairman) and we decided to go our separate ways.

“It has been challenging but there have been good times along the way.”

Reape, who lost his number two Danny Bolton over a month ago, admitted that financial constraints had made the job tough.

“The club has to be realistic in where it wants to be as, without finance, it’s never going to challenge,” he said.

“All teams have bad runs but the squad is not big enough. I’m sure they will come through it though. I’ve had some really nice messages from the players and I hope they will stay at Silsden for the battle.”

Reape, who has coaching experience with Oldham Athletic’s academy, wants to stay in management.

He said: “I’ve already been approached by a couple of clubs but I’m not going to jump into anything and I will recharge my batteries over the festive period first.”

In a post on the Silsden forum, club general secretary Pete Hanson said: “I’m sad to see Chris go, as I thought he put in a tremendous amount of work over the past three years and also thought he was a great footballing coach. I am sure he will go on to bigger and better things.”