Blackburn have announced they have parted company with manager Owen Coyle by "mutual agreement".
Two days after nearly securing an FA Cup replay against Manchester United, Rovers and Coyle have gone their separate ways with the club admitting they fear for their Championship status as they are second bottom with only 15 games remaining.
Former Republic of Ireland international Coyle, who has previously been in charge of Burnley, Bolton and Wigan in the region, only arrived at Ewood Park in the summer having recently managed MLS team Houston Dynamo.
Coyle has had to endure testing conditions with Blackburn as owners Venkys continue to sell the team's best players, replacing them with loanees and free transfers.
Rovers have been caught in a spiral of decline since winning the Premier League in 1995 and are currently second from bottom of the Championship, in danger of relegation to English football's third tier for the first time since 1980.
Blackburn's problems have not been confined to the pitch, with supporters regularly protesting against the owners, which bought the club in 2010.
The initial appointment of Coyle, 50, was a surprise given his previous ties with Blackburn's east-Lancashire rivals Burnley and the fact he had not managed in the country since an ill-fated spell with Wigan in 2013.
Yet his record in elevating the Clarets into the Premier League is believed to have been viewed favourably by Venky's after a four-year absence from the top flight.
However, having assumed a position that Paul Lambert walked away from because he felt he was not going to be backed, the club sold both Grant Hanley and central-defensive partner Shane Duffy at the start of the season and have toiled in the lower reaches ever since.
The club insisted there was money to spend in the January transfer window, but Coyle was left frustrated having seen deals for four players fail to materialise before the deadline.
