There can’t be many managers who can claim to get a club promoted to the top flight of non-league football during two different spells in charge – but Chris Kinnear is one of them.

Dover decided to part company with Kinnear on Friday after just one win in 14 National League games this season but it is fair to say the good times far outweighed any adversity at Crabble.

Kinnear guided the team from the Southern League into the Conference during his 10 years in charge first time around at Dover from 1985 to 1995.

He repeated the feat after taking charge again in January 2013, winning the Conference South play-off final at Ebbsfleet in May 2014.

Since then, Kinnear has guided Dover to brilliant finishes of fifth, sixth and eighth (twice). His direct style of play may not have made many friends away from Crabble but it certainly produced outstanding results.

Every manager knows football is a results business. And given chairman Jim Parmenter’s investment into facilities off the field at Crabble, the team’s failure to match those ambitions on the pitch this season - after years of over-achieving in a competitive league - meant an inevitable ending.

The past three months have been a rare struggle at Dover for a man who has amazingly presided over 15 of the club's 35-year history in its current form.

Indeed, in his first spell in charge Kinnear actually won the Southern League title twice – but Dover were denied promotion the first time as they failed to meet the ground grading requirements.

When Whites did join non-league’s elite – a division at the time that included the likes of Runcorn, Stalybridge, Bromsgrove and Slough – they finished eighth in 1993/94.

The following campaign saw Dover slip to 16th, just five points outside the relegation zone, before Kinnear departed.

He went on to enjoy similar success at Margate, taking them from the Southern League Southern Division to the Conference, and then finishing eighth in their first season - the highest-placed part-time club in the country.

Kinnear returned to Crabble nearly two decades later, replacing Nicky Forster with Whites third in the Conference South table after a run of five straight defeats. They ended the season third to reach the play-offs but, after defeating Eastleigh on penalties in the semi-final, Dover lost the final 3-2 at Salisbury.

The following campaign Dover were again in the play-offs, finishing the season fifth but this time winning promotion.

They won the second leg of their semi-final 3-0 at Sutton to reach the final at Ebbsfleet, where Nathan Elder’s goal earned promotion to the Conference Premier, which now featured the likes of Bristol Rovers, Grimsby and Lincoln.

Dover were eighth the following campaign when the highlight was undoubtedly a televised FA Cup third round tie against Crystal Palace, after defeating Morecambe and Cheltenham in the previous two rounds.

A Whites team containing Sean Raggett, Stefan Payne and Nicky Deverdics – who were to all progress into the Football League – was beaten 4-0 at a sell-out Crabble during only their second-ever appearance at that stage of the competition.

Kinnear led Dover to fifth in the National League in 2015/16, losing to Forest Green in the play-off semi-finals.

The following season Dover were three points short of another play-off appearance while the revised format saw them finish outside the play-off places on just goal difference last term.

Kinnear revitalised the career of Ricky Miller who left Crabble for Peterborough in May 2017 after a goal-rich season which saw him score five hat-tricks in a tally of 42 Dover goals while Mitchell Pinnock was lured by AFC Wimbledon in the summer after a string of impressive displays under Kinnear’s tutelage.

It wasn’t just players that were attracting interest, however, and less than 12 months ago Kinnear was linked heavily with the Leyton Orient job, although they subsequently opted for Justin Edinburgh.

But ultimately having to rebuild his squad every season as bigger clubs cherry-picked Dover’s best players finally caught up with Kinnear and, having seemingly performed miracles year after year, he was relieved of his duties after a run of 10 games without a win.

His departure is another reminder that football often has no room for sentiment with Kinnear leaving the club just 82 games shy of 1,000 matches in the Crabble hotseat. A record of 479 wins, 206 draws and 233 defeats may seem irrelevant as Whites battle for survival, but having led Dover through many great seasons Kinnear certainly departs with his head held high.