Lord Triesman is refusing to budge from his position as chairman of England's 2018 World Cup bid.

This despite the shock resignation of Sir Dave Richards from the bid board.

Richards, the Premier League chairman, had been the bid's deputy chairman in charge of international relations and his resignation is seen in some circles as a damning vote of no confidence in Triesman's leadership of a campaign that has been rocked by a series of setbacks in recent weeks.

However, Andy Anson, England 2018's chief executive, insisted the rest of the board were right behind Triesman.

Anson told Press Association Sport: "It's absolutely vital that the chairman of the FA is in the most prominent position in this bid.

"In our dealings with FIFA and UEFA it has been seen as essential that they deal with us through the FA.

"The chairman has done a fantastic job in the last few weeks meeting FIFA executive committee members around the world - he's led the bid in a very effective way.

"I think we have to support him and get behind him - he's the right person to lead the bid."

England 2018 released no statement from Triesman, but Anson insisted Richards' resignation was a personal decision and "not a Premier League issue" - and that the Premier League remained right behind the bid.

Anson said: "This was a personal decision by Sir Dave but he will continue to support the World Cup bid and use his wealth of international experience to support the campaign.

"This is not a Premier League issue. Sir Dave has made his own decision about his place on the board, so we've accepted his resignation and we move on.

"I've spoken to Richard Scudamore and David Gill who are out in Kuala Lumpur with Peter Kenyon working for the Premier League and supporting the bid.

"They are fully behind what we're doing and it was encouraging to hear that being emphasised.

"They have done some excellent work on our behalf around Asia on their current trip so this not an issue about the Premier League."

Richards is understood to have been unhappy with the direction of the bid for some time and nearly quit at the last emergency meeting of the board.

He did so last night, announcing his decision in a letter delivered to Triesman this morning in which he said he would continue to support the campaign but no longer wanted to be on the board.

The resignation could hardly have come at a worse time for Triesman, who had hoped to draw a line under recent turmoil by streamlining the board.

Richards informed Triesman only a few hours before the new-look board was due to meet for the first time.

Richards said in a statement released to Press Association Sport: "With the recent changes to the England 2018 bid team structure, I feel I can now best support a successful bid without the necessity of sitting on the board.

"My positions as Premier League chairman, FA board member and chairman of the FA's international committee provide me with ample opportunities to bang the drum for English football, and the bid particularly, right across the world, which I will continue to do wherever and whenever I can.

"My belief is that England has all the right attributes to host a successful FIFA World Cup - our challenge now is to convince the 24 members of FIFA's ExCo [executive committee] of that. This must be our focus and priority going forward."

The shock move highlights the underlying tensions between the Premier League and the FA which have existed since Triesman made a public attack on clubs' debts in October 2008.

Richards and Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore were both ignored when Triesman initially put the bid board together before, on the insistence of bid chief executive Andy Anson, Richards was persuaded to join so the campaign could harness the clout of the Premier League - he has strong international contacts, particularly in Africa and Asia.

Sports minister Gerry Sutcliffe, who himself agree to step down from the board the week before last to give it more of a football focus, expressed his disappointment.

Sutcliffe told Press Association Sport: "I'm sad about that and disappointed.

"Dave Richards has great skills and contacts around the world, so I'm pleased he will still be in contact with the bid.

"We had hoped to create a more football-focused board so I hope someone else to represent the Premier League will now go on the bid board in his place."