Allan Douglas has become the first coaching casualty of the new cricket season.

The former Bermuda wicketkeeper was asked to resign as head coach of Logic Premier Division side Cleveland County on Monday and has been replaced by Clay Smith, who has agreed to come back for a second coaching stint at the Harris Bay club.

Prior to being asked to hand over the reins, Douglas had been sharing coaching duties with former team-mates Peter Philpott and Grant Smith but was widely regarded as the head coach at the club.

“Clay is our new head coach and I officially let Allan know on Monday that he has been relieved of his duties because he was the one who gravitated to the leader role,” Carlton Smith, the Cleveland president, said.

Cleveland gained promotion to the Premier Division, won the First Division Knockout Cup and qualified for the Belco Cup during Smith’s previous three-year coaching stint.

“It is good to be back at Cleveland,” the former St George’s and Bermuda captain said. “I have some unfinished business there.

“Last time I thoroughly enjoyed myself. The players at Cleveland are keen and eager to learn, which makes my job as a coach even more enjoyable.”

He added: “I look forward to the challenges ahead. But as I told my players Tuesday night in a meeting you can only get out what you put in so be prepared to work hard.”

Douglas, who also attended Tuesday’s meeting, has vowed to continue supporting his beloved club.

“Ride or die I am Cleveland, so everything they do decent I am going to support,” he said. “I will just play a supporting role because it takes a team effort.

“Clay has been out of coaching for about five years so he has come back with energy and fire. And to be truthful, that is what the club needs.”

Club president Smith is also delighted to have the former star batsman’s services again at his disposal.

“Clay is a disciplinarian and a no nonsense guy who motivates the guys,” he said. “It was a great meeting with him last night [Tuesday] and we had seventeen guys show up.

“He let the guys know what he expects of them and everyone was just listening clearly and attentively. The vibe has just instantly changed and the guys want to play cricket now.

“We had a nice turnout and Allan came because I invited him to tell him that it was not all his fault. The players had to commit too and it was pathetic, so we had to make this coaching change.

“We could not even get eleven guys out to training so we were going downhill fast. The guys were just going through the motions.

“I was not happy with the way training was going and it spilled over the last two weeks in the Belco Cup when we could not get eleven guys out to train. There was no motivation and then on Saturday guys showed up at their own free will and we could not give Arnold [cricket commentator Arnold Manders] the teamsheet to announce on the radio.”