Mike Schmid insists Esher are aiming for a quickfire promotion to the Championship following their heartbreaking relegation from National One.

The final-day 50-3 defeat at Bedford plus Moseley’s victory at Manchester doomed the Surrey side to the drop despite finishing fifth from bottom.

Schmid was quick to praise his young side after a run of eight wins in the final 13 games kept their survival hopes alive until the last day.

But the Esher Director of Rugby also slammed the RFU for their decision to change the league structure halfway through the season.

The RFU decided to relegate five instead of two teams from National One in November to form a new 12-team Championship next season.

Schmid said: “I think this team deserve a lot better than to be relegated after what they have achieved.

“We have met all the targets we set at the start of the season only to be relegated because the RFU moved the goalposts midway through the season.

“I said at the time that it was a disgusting decision to change the structure in the way they did and the timing of it.

“I went through a similar thing when I was at Rotherham and it it’s a very poor way to run an elite competition.

“But we put up a hell of a fight but the Bedford game showed that we had mentally and physically hit the wall after the defeat by London Welsh the week before.

“But the boys can be proud of their season. We rebuilt a new team and won more games and got more points than ever before playing attractive rugby.

“Now we will be fighting as hard as we can to go straight back up into the Championship next year.

“The club has been ambitious for a long time and that ambition is continuing and everybody is optimistic “In any other season we would have been overjoyed at what we have achieved this season from out resource base.

“Now we are trying to keep a strong core of players together for next season and the planning has already started.”

But Schmid will have less money to spend on players and American scrum-half Robbie Shaw has already signed a contract to play for Bristol next season following their relegation from the Guinness Premiership.

Esher’s RFU funding will be cut by around £100,00 while their biggest backer Pillar Data Systems have pulled the plug on their £60,000-a-year sponsorship two years into a three-year deal.

Schmid said: “It’s disappointing but understandable when they are laying people off.

“Fund-raising is going to play a large part in what we are going to be able to do.

“Bu the early indications are good for next season and we hope to keep our loan arrangements with Harlequins and other sides going.

“Dean Richards at Quins has been exceptionally supportive and has been a great friend of Esher Rugby Club.

“We have helped bring on several Quins players like George Robson, Mark Lambert, Charlie Amesbury and Seb Stegmann.

“George Lowe and Seb Jewell have also done very well for us this year and will be going on to do something at Quins over the next year or so.”