Sean McCaffrey’s tenure as manager of Dundalk has come to an end after he left the club by mutual consent.
The Lilywhites are in a dire financial position at the moment, and McCaffrey pointed to this issue as a factor in the decision.
In a statement released this evening, the club said: “Sean McCaffrey and Dundalk FC have today come to a mutual understanding to end Sean’s tenure as first team manager at the club.
"Both parties believe this is in the best interests of all concerned.”
The statement quoted McCaffrey as saying: “Many of my plans and initiatives unfortunately could not be realised at the club in an appropriate timeframe and due to this I feel is it best we go our separate ways.
"I would like to thank all the players, coaching and administration staff for their efforts and cooperation during my time at the club and I wish them all the best for the rest of the season,” the former Republic of Ireland underage manager added.
The club accepted that off-field problems had played their part in preventing McCaffrey from succeeding at Oriel Park.
“Dundalk FC would like to thank Sean for his dedication, commitment and professional work ethic towards the role of First Team Manager at Dundalk FC.
“The unprecedented financial times have added significant pressures on the club and have curtailed many of the ambitious plans Sean had for the Dundalk FC.
“We would like to thank Sean and wish him well in his future career.
Assistant manager Darius Kearns has been given a caretaker role ahead of tomorrow night’s visit of Shamrock Rovers.
Dundalk currently lie tenth in the Airtricity League Premier Division, with UCD the only side below them in the table.
