Kingstonian boss Tommy WIlliams has lifted the lid on defender Matt Drage’s Kingsmeadow exit.

Drage quit the club on Tuesday and posted a message on Twitter – later deleted – suggesting a dressing room bust-up after Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Leatherhead had led to his exit.

"When you have management grab you round the face and you factor in they have no idea what they’re doing. Easy really," Drage tweeted in reply to a fan asking why he had left the club.

But Williams insisted his departure, along with that of striker Nathaniel Pinney, was purely for footballing reasons.

"I think what he said is just a turn of phrase because there was no physical contact,” he said.

“It was time for Matt to move on.

“He has a lot of ability and is a good footballer, but I want to win things and am trying to build a team of winners.

“I want players with character and who are winners.

“There is a big difference between being a good footballer and being a winner.

“It was a football decision, but we need the right characters – on and off the field – to move forward.”

The former Tooting & Mitcham United defender Drage trained with former manager Alan Dowson’s Hampton & Richmond Borough on Thursday.

“He is a great player and will make a massive difference to us,” said Dowson.