Monday 13 March 2017 13:13, UK
Warren Joyce has been sacked as Wigan Athletic manager after less than five months in the role.
His assistant Graham Barrow has been appointed as the Latics' interim manager on a deal until the end of the season.
Joyce, who was appointed on November 2, won only six of his 24 matches in charge of Wigan and leaves them in 23rd place in the Sky Bet Championship.
Andy Welsh, Wigan's head of first team coaching, has also left the club with immediate effect.
Chairman David Sharp told the club's official website: "It is unfortunate that we have made this decision but with the team in such a perilous position in the league, we need to act now because we cannot afford to fall any further behind.
"Warren was appointed with the future in mind in terms of developing players but preserving our Championship status is the absolute priority and we have a duty to do whatever gives us the best chance of doing that.
"Results and performances have simply not been up to standard often enough in recent matches and although we acknowledge the difficulties faced in managing a team in a league where we are competing against clubs with much larger budgets, the nature of some of our recent defeats, especially against close rivals, has fallen short in terms of what we as a club, and all our supporters, expect."
Saturday's 1-0 home defeat to relegation rivals Bristol City turned out to be Joyce's final match as Wigan boss and left the Latics four points from safety.
Barrow's first game in full control will be against Aston Villa at the DW Stadium on Saturday.
