Sunderland have sacked Blues legend Tony Mowbray from his role as head coach with fellow former Town defender Mark Venus, his assistant, also leaving the Stadium of Light.
The Black Cats are currently ninth in the Championship having won only two of their last nine matches and are without a win in three. On Saturday they drew 1-1 at Millwall.
Last season, having taken over at the end of August 2022, the duo took the Wearsiders to the play-offs where they were beaten by Luton in the semi-finals.
"All at SAFC have thoroughly enjoyed working with Tony and he is quite rightly held in high regard by our players and staff, and our supporters,” sporting director Kristjaan Speakman told the Sunderland website.
"After arriving at an uncertain time, he helped guide us to the Sky Bet Championship Play-Offs and played an important role in developing our team.
"This was a difficult decision to make, but we remain loyal to our ambition and our strategy, and felt that now was the right moment to take this step.
"We are now focused on identifying the right candidate and we will continue to support our coaching team and players throughout the interim period.”
Chairman Kyril Louis-Dreyfus added: "I would like to place on record my gratitude to Tony for his hard work and commitment to Sunderland, a place where he will always be welcome.
"As custodians of our great club, we believe in our long-term strategy that we hope will ensure sustainability and success for SAFC.
"Central to that approach is a relentless demand for a high performance culture to be implemented throughout the club and the development of a strong playing identity that you, our loyal supporters, can all be proud of.
"Your continued support will also be fundamental to that progress and we look forward to seeing as many of you as possible at the Stadium of Light throughout the festive period and as we enter 2024.”
Head of individual player development Mike Dodds will lead first-team training and match preparations during the process of appointing a new permanent boss.
Earlier this evening, Swansea City sacked their manager Michael Duff.