Tony Walmsley has been sacked as coach of the Central Coast Mariners in the wake of their disastrous FFA Cup defeat to Green Gully.
Walmsley was appointed caretaker coach in March last year, but steered the Mariners to just five wins from 30 games as well as the wooden spoon in the A-League last season.
The embarrassing 2-1 defeat to NPL Victoria side Green Gully last week was the final straw for Walmsley, leaving Central Coast in a mad scramble to find a replacement just eight weeks out from the new season.
Assistant coaches John Hutchinson, Matthew Nash, Brice Johnson and Ben Cahn will oversee preseason preparations in the interim.
But whoever the new coach is, they'll have little room to improve the team, with all five import slots already filled and the squad almost at capacity.
"It's time for me to move on to explore a number of opportunities," Walmsley said in a statement released by the club.
"I'm happy with my contribution to the club over a number of years.
"Last year was particularly tough and I sacrificed a lot, but I'm confident the work undertaken will bear fruit.
"I believe in the group of players I've assembled for this season and the new coach will be coming into a much healthier environment than the one I inherited."
Mariners executive vice-chairman Peter Storrie praised Walmsley for getting on with his job with "no complaints" during a "difficult period of restructuring" for the club.