Cork City have made another managerial change with Liam Buckley departing their coaching team as they stare down a relegation play-off in November.
Richie Holland will take charge for the remainder of the year, having served under Buckley as assistant in recent months.
The former St Patrick's Athletic and Sligo Rovers manager was appointed sporting director of the club in May, before heading up an interim management team following Colin Healy’s resignation, and will now return to the former role.
However, six points from the last 12 matches has left the Rebels in ninth place and heading for a play-off against a First Division side, barring a dramatic turnaround.
Cork will play an FAI Cup semi-final on Sunday week against St Patrick’s Athletic, having shown better form in that competition, but last Monday's 5-0 loss to Dundalk compounded their league woes.
They trail eighth place Sligo by nine points with five matches to go, having been promoted last year.
Buckley will now resume the full-time role of sporting director as Holland steps up.
Cork City owner Dermot Usher said: "Liam brings a lot to the club, but we are conscious that results have not been what we need in recent games.
"Following internal discussions, we feel it is best to make this change now as we go into the last six games of the season.
"Liam will now go back to focusing on the role of sporting director, which was the role in which he originally joined us, to focus on player and manager recruitment.
"Richie will assume control of the men’s first team for the remainder of the season. He has been with the club a long time and he knows how much our current position is hurting everyone connected with the club.
"I have no doubt that everyone from the backroom team to the players to the fans are fully focused on improved performances and results over the coming week.
"The support we have had all season has been great, and I know it is hurting the Cork City fans to see where we are in the table right now. We all know that it needs to be better, and it is important for us all to come together and pull in the same direction to put things right.
"We have five league games remaining, as well as a cup semi-final, so there is still an awful lot to play for and we need dust ourselves down and face that challenge."
Holland has considerable experience within the club working with City’s academy and women’s side.
His first match in charge will be a league game with St Pat’s on Friday.
Holland said: "We know that this is not where Cork City should be, and we know that recent performances have not been good enough.
"As a collective, we need to get back to the basics that we, and our supporters, expect from a Cork City team. We need to show more hunger and more fight, and we need to be a hard team to play against.
"We know that we have good players here at the club, and we have a lot of lads who are from Cork or have come through the academy, who know what this club means to people.
"Starting with Friday’s game against St Pat’s, we want to put a team out on the pitch that will give everything for the Cork City crest on the jersey, who will fight for everything and who the fans will get behind."
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