(Picture: Action Images via Reuters)
League Two side Grimsby Town have sacked manager Marcus Bignot after just five months in the hot seat.
Bignot, 42, was appointed in charge of the Mariners after leaving National League side Solihull Moors, and won nine of his 27 games at the helm.
His last game was Saturday's impressive 3-1 win at play-off chasing Blackpool – a result that left Grimsby 14th in their first season back in the Football League.
The timing will surprise many, but on the sacking, a club statement read: “Following Grimsby Town Football Club's return to The EFL, there remains a strong ambition to build on last season's promotion.
“Therefore, it is with regret that today the Club has decided to release the current Management Team from their first team duties.
“The Board would like to put on record their thanks to Marcus Bignot, Michael Moore and Gary Whild for all their hard work and efforts during the last 6 months and wish them the best for their futures.”
Bignot, a former player with QPR, took his first job in the Football League in November, when Paul Hurst left Grimsby to take over at Shrewsbury of League One.
The miraculous job he did at Solihull, and leading them to the fifth tier of the English game on such limited resources, impressed many – including the Mariners hierarchy – but he will have to continue a career, that looked to be on an upwards trajectory, elsewhere.
