The departure of Player Manager Dave Underwood at the end of the end of 1966/67 promotion winning campaign opened up a managerial opportunity for fellow team member  and central defender Keith Rutter.
Rutter was born in Leeds on 1931 and spent his formative years playing for Methley United before signing for Queens Park Rangers, making his  League debut in August 1954 against Southend United. He went on to make a total of 339 League games for Rangers, being an ever present for three years during which period he scored one  goal. He moved to Colchester United  in 1962, spending two seasons with the Essex Club for whom he made a further 63 appearances, before stepping down from the Football league to sign for Ashford Town.
Joining Hastings United at the beginning of the 1966/67 season, he was a virtual ever present and as a consequence was well placed through experience to take up the managerial role at the beginning of the following season. Perhaps his personal triumph was the home fixture against Stevenage Town on 4 January in front of 1,481 supporters. United won 3-0 that day and Rutter was one of the three goalscorers.  He had effectively doubled his career goal tally, adding to the goal scored for Queens Park Rangers.
Rutter seemed to have made a high profile start  as Player/Manager signing Bobby Nash from Queens Park Rangers and Exeter City, Tom Curley from Glasgow Celtic and Brentford and Ricky George from Watford and Bournemouth . In addition the  pre season fixtures at face value seemed attractive. Brighton and Hove Albion, Queens Park Rangers and Crewe Alexandra all visited the Pilot field for Friendlies and an away fixture at Southall was also arranged.
Although the team’s performance pre season was disappointing Tom Curley performed so well for United against Crewe Alexandra that he was subsequently sold to them after having played only three pre season friendlies in his short United career. Rutter will regret not being able to hold on to Curley at Hastings as over the next two seasons he made 52 appearances for Crewe in the Football League and scored seven goals.
Rutter’s opening league fixtures brought a home defeat to Weymouth 4-2, an away defeat at Hillingdon  1-3, and a home defeat to Dover by 0-2. The away fixture at Ramsgate for the Southern League Cup fixture resulted in a 2-0 defeat by which time Chairman James Humphreys took decisive action with Hastings rooted at the foot of the table without a point. The programme notes for the home visit of Wimbledon ( the original club that made progress to the First Division and the FA Cup Final) included the following paragraph:
“As you have probably seen from reports in the press, several changes have been made within the club this week. All concerned with the club, both Directors and Players, and also yourselves the Supporters, have been disappointed with the poor start to the season and therefore these changes have been necessary with a view to obtaining the required results and consequently retaining the support of the people in this town. We are now looking forward with great confidence to a successful season”
Keith Rutter had been dismissed as player manager after just four matches, thereby being the only Hastings United manager never to have won a match after starting the job ( compared with Kevin McHale who was earlier reported to be the only appointed Manager never to have  won as he never took up his role after having been appointed!)
Three further defeats followed and it was not until former Portsmouth skipper  Reg Flewin took control of the side on 23 September against Nuneaton Borough and was rewarded with a 4-0 victory.
Flewin was unable to halt the Club’s side and relegation followed at the end of the season with the club having been rooted at the foot of the table for most of the season. To his credit Keith Rutter continued as a player for the remainder of the season under Flewin before leaving the club at the end of the 1967/68 season. Perhaps he derived some confident that neither he nor Flewin had been able to get sufficient from the squad, to retain the Premier Division status.