Having spent more than a decade at Old Bath Road, the former Director of Rugby oversaw the club gain promotion to National Two South before handing over the reins to Seb Reynolds.

However, he remains heavily involved behind the scenes, acting as a sounding board for the coaching staff and working closely to further improve standards throughout the club from the Minis upwards.

And he admitted: “I’m satisfied at this stage, but there is still a lot more to do.

“My vision was creating an ethos of constant improvement in playing and coaching standards at all levels within the club.

“There was a need to create an environment where the players were happy, supported each other and embraced the challenge of personal development.

“As a club we also needed to have a greater engagement in the local community – working with Reading University, Berkshire Under 20s and Forest School has had a positive and beneficial effect.

“However, none of this was possible without the support of a visionary committee, a conscientious coaching team – I must mention Spike Henderson – and an army of hard working volunteers.”

The journey through National Three included a then-best third-placed finish in 2011/12, a campaign which Mike said featured a number of highlights which have benefitted the club long-term.

He continued: “Beating Bournemouth, who won the league, 22-18 away from home was good, and we also drew with Chinnor 22-22 who were also promoted.

“It was also key we started winning in the West Country. That season we won at Weston-super-Mare, Exmouth, Barnstaple and Old Pats, so we were getting into good habits. If you wanted to be promoted you had to win regularly in that region.”

Promotion was finally sealed in 2014/15, and despite losing their opening seven games in National Two South the following season, Rams rallied to stay up and Mike believes those two years were vital.

He admitted: “It was essential to gain promotion that season as we had come close previously, but now had to take a golden opportunity.

“The seasons before helped to improve our skill levels, our game management improved and we were getting mentally stronger.

“Then it was essential to stay up and I believed we could – more importantly the players shared the same optimism.

“We initially had an horrendous injury list which caused constant changes which upset the equilibrium of the squad.

“Once this settled we started to gain confidence and win.

“Also Robbie Stapley came back to the club at Christmas and that was a massive factor in our redemption.”

Reflecting on the stand-out moments of his time in the hot seat, Mike continued: “There are too many to mention!

“I always enjoy watching us play, but I guess our first ever league win in National Two, beating Worthing at home, and defeating Old Elthamians in the same season would be up there.

“In terms of tries, all of them, but especially the pushovers!”

He continued: “There is an endless list of players – to be fair many have made significant contributions in our journey and evolution to a formidable National One side.

“Over that period James Baker, Tom Vought, Robbie Stapley and Stevie Bryant have been outstanding performers and leaders.

“Ben Henderson and Jak Rossiter emerged from the Berkshire Under 20 side who won the county championship and which I had the privilege to be Head Coach of.

“Again they have been influential in getting us to where we are now.

“The same could be said of Ollie Taylor, a master of the line-out, and Jamie Guttridge, who goes about his business in an unobtrusive way.

“I also like Ollie Cole who is developing into a very useful scrum half.

“Going back we owe a lot to Andy Amor, Nigel Gumbleton, Joe Duffelen and Will Clark who all shared the ambition to take the club to the top.”

Reflecting on his coaching philosophy and the importance of Berkshire having a side competing at a strong level, he added: “I believe in high skill levels for the individual, unit and team.

“It is up to the coach to create an enjoy able environment where the player can prosper.

“The individual having a higher skill set, becoming fitter, stronger and a better decision maker is essential to a team’s success.

“Berkshire has always produced some very useful players going back decades, and rugby certainly has a following so our job is to direct them to OBR.”

And lastly, looking ahead, Mike concluded: “I feel this group of players are just reaching their peak and there is a lot left in them.

“They also have the advantage of being guided by an outstanding team of coaches in Seb, Owen, Danny and Joe. They have a clear strategy, understand the game and are meticulous in their preparation.”

Rest of the calendar

1 - Jez Flynn
2 - Andy Lynch
3 - Josh Collis
4 - Joe Bell
5 - Rodney Hutson
6 - Seb Reynolds
7 - Jamie Guttridge
8 - Robbie Stapley
9 - Gary Reynolds
10 - Alex Seers
11 - Owen Root
12 - Nick Flynn
13 - Conor Corrigan
14 - Rookie the Ram
15 - Tom Vooght
16 - James Baker
17 - Jevon Marsh
18 - Jak Rossiter
19 - Andy Amor
20 - Kieran Leicester
21 - Ben Henderson