Friday 15 January 2016 11:24, UK
Bristol City manager Steve Cotterill has been relieved of his duties with immediate effect.
Cotterill won the League One Title and the Johnstone's Paint Trophy last season, but a poor run of results has seen the club win just once in their last 12 matches in all competitions.
The 51-year-old became embroiled in a post-match argument with fans following Tuesday's 2-1 home defeat to Preston which left the club in the bottom three of the Championship and proved to be Cotterill's final match of his two-year reign.
Club chairman Keith Dawe said in statement on the club's website: "I brought Steve Cotterill into Bristol City just over two years ago as I believed he could keep us in League One that year and build from there.
"Steve did keep us in the division and went on, in conjunction with the rest of the organisation, to deliver a League One championship and Johnstone's Paint Trophy. That season will live in the memory for a long time.
"Sadly, since the highs of last March and May things have not gone our way on the pitch and Steve has now left the club."
Following the former Nottingham Forest and Portsmouth manager's departure, assistant John Pemberton and under-21 boss Wade Elliott will take charge of the team for Saturday's visit of Middlesbrough.
Dawe added: "I thank Steve Cotterill for all his efforts over the last two seasons. Sadly we haven't managed to push on from last season and the time has come for us to all move forward.
"The club's aspiration is to ultimately become a Premier League club and this decision has been made to achieve our overall strategy for growth and player development."
