ONE of Bromsgrove Sporting's founding members has been ousted from the club's board of directors.

Rob McLaren, who was one of the men behind the formation of Sporting in 2009 following the demise of Bromsgrove Rovers, was removed from his position after a secret shareholder vote at the club's annual general meeting last Wednesday.

A total of 220-204 votes went against the 58-year-old from retaining his position, with the rest of the shareholders abstaining.

Three directors, Jeff Rea, David Stephens and Phil Baker were all re-elected to the board following the vote by the number of shares held and not by a show of hands. Cris Anscombe and John Smith were elected as directors and Mike Burke was re-appointed as the chairman with no other nominations made for the position.

Fans were left shocked by the decision to oust McLaren who played a vital role in building the club over the last eight years.

McLaren released a statement following the decision and claimed his calls for more external investment and attempts to bring in new directors led to his removal.

He also raised concerns about the relationship between manager Paul Smith and Burke, which he says he initially highlighted in a letter of resignation on October 18.

He said: "Although there has been no official comment or communication between the club and myself, I will bow to democracy and the shareholders wishes, standing down from all activities with effect from Thursday, October 26. I will remain a shareholder and follow the clubs fortunes with keen interest.

"Many of the concerns raised in the letter (of resignation) centre on communication and the effectiveness of the board and the need for more external investment. I believe that it was these attempts to bring in new directors with share investment that the above situation was engineered for my removal.

"In my view Paul (Smith) has been the driving force behind the recent success of the club, but during this season I have had to meet to persuade him to stay on as he felt he was not fully supported by the chairman and hence the board.

"I wish Paul Smith a long and healthy time at the football club. I would like to personally thank him for his efforts, drive, humour, some great football and footballers. My personal hope is that my departure clears the way for the club to unite, focus on the football and continue to see the growth which we have all enjoyed since that heady day in November 2009."

Chairman Mike Burke said: "The decision was taken by shareholders to vote by percentage rather than a show of hands, as they are allowed to do.

"I do understand Rob's situation because a similar thing happened to me when I was at Halesowen Town. The only difference was I hadn't handed in my resignation at the time.

"We will look into the issues raised but that is something we are always doing. We are looking at more outside investment but both the person and timing have to be right.

"We don't want just one person having more of a say, which has happened in the past. The club is more of a democracy than it has ever been.

"It's all about evolution not revolution and we need to make sure the clubs support can sustain the growth. We want to build something that is going to last."

He also confirmed that boss Smith does have his full support, adding: "Of course he has our support. He has a 60 per cent bigger budget than last year, that proved he has our support. We believe he is the right man to take us forward."

Burke also said supporters will get a chance to ask further questions at the next fans' forum, which will be arranged for December.