Darlington have parted company with a manager for the second time this season after opting to relieve Steve Staunton of his duties.

The 41-year-old former Republic of Ireland boss only took over at the Northern Echo Arena in October after the sacking of Colin Todd, but he has been unable to prevent the Quakers from falling 19 points short of safety at the foot of League Two.

Saturday`s 2-1 home defeat to Barnet was watched by a record-low crowd of 1,463 and chairman Raj Singh has admitted that he was left with little option when it came to ending Staunton's five-month stay with the club.

'It is with regret that we're having to part company with another manager during what's been a forgetful season for us, but we felt we were left with no alternative after yesterday,' he said.

'The most disappointing side to yesterday was the attendance - a record low crowd told us a lot. We desperately wanted things to work out for Steve but it clearly wasn't to be.'

Craig Liddle and Neil Maddison are to take temporary charge of first-team affairs until a permanent appointment is made.


I know this is yesterdays news but looking back on it now WTF were the FAI thinking when they appointed him as Ireland manager?