BERWICK Football Club president Peter Jensen and his committee this week resigned from their positions and vowed never to return to the club.

Mr Jensen’s committee stood down at the request of Mornington Peninsula Nepean Football League (MPNFL) officials during a crisis meeting on Monday night, making way for a new committee to be led by former president Cliff Donegan.

The ‘council of war’ was called in a bid to end a bitter and protracted feud for control of the club, with MPNFL chairman Tony Vagg and senior director Ken Doherty stepping in to mediate between the rival groups.

Mr Vagg confirmed that Mr Donegan’s committee would assume control of the club but the league will continue to oversee its administration to ensure a smooth transition.

Mr Jensen’s committee members have been invited to reapply for positions on the new committee but the president of seven years said his group would have no further involvement with the club.

“We’re finished,” he said on Tuesday.

“None of us will be going back to the footy club ever again.”

Mr Jensen said the dispute was the result of conflicting visions for the club, with his committee pushing for greater involvement with other local sporting clubs under the collective identity of the Berwick Sports Club.

Ultimately, the MPNFL officials were left unconvinced by that vision and decided to side with Mr Donegan and his football-focused committee.

Mr Vagg said the new committee had a more realistic plan for the future.

“They’ve got a large committee, they’ve got a business plan, they’ve got everything set up – and the other group didn’t have anything,” he said.

“It’s sad to see it come to this state because both parties have got good intentions but they’ll now need to work together to get Berwick back on track.”

A relieved Mr Donegan thanked the MPNFL officials for their guidance.

He said the dispute had threatened to cripple the club on the eve of the 2009 season.

“We’ve got two weeks until we’re starting to play football and we didn’t know what was going on,” he said.

“Now it’s just full steam ahead to run the footy club and we believe we’ve got some good people who all want the same thing – for the club to be successful on and off the field.”

Mr Donegan said he was confident that the club could now move on.

“Our main goal now is to get Berwick people back to the club,” he said.

“We want to get our life members, our supporters and our ex-players back involved, get our membership up and make sure it’s all positive from now on.”

Meanwhile, Mr Jensen said he was disappointed to end his involvement with the club on a sour note.

“I’m a bit upset about how things unfolded,” he said.

“We all love the club, otherwise we wouldn’t have been there, so it’s a disappointing way to end it.”

The Wickers kick-off the 2009 season against Devon Meadows on Saturday 18 April.