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DEFEAT at Mansfield Town in the Checkatrade Trophy was Stephen Robinson's final game in charge of Athletic

ATHLETIC are to sack manager Stephen Robinson in a bid to save the club's season.

The decision to dispense with the 42-year-old's services was made yesterday, after Athletic lost 2-0 at Mansfield on Tuesday night.

That was a fifth straight game in which the club - currently under a registration embargo due to unpaid bills - failed to score.

The news of Robinson's departure was expected to be confirmed today. The status of his backroom staff, including assistant Ian Baraclough, is unclear.

APPOINT

It means Athletic are left looking to appoint a seventh manager inside the last two years.

In total, former Northern Ireland first-team coach and Motherwell assistant Robinson took charge of 33 Athletic matches in his first managerial role, winning seven, drawing 11 and losing 15.

Athletic sit bottom of Sky Bet League One, with 12 goals scored in 24 outings. The last league victory came back in October when then-leaders Scunthorpe were beaten 2-0 at SportsDirect.com Park.

That represents the only home win of 2016-17 so far, with Athletic having the worst home record in the division. Only four league goals have arrived on their own patch all season.

Robinson leaves the job after only six months, with strains in his relationship with chairman Simon Corney clearly evident.

After the FA Cup defeat to Lincoln City, Corney took away food privileges from the squad - the players now pay for their own food in the North Stand - and Robinson has had his player targets vetoed, while not being made aware of the impending sale of midfielder Carl Winchester to Cheltenham.

EXPERIENCE

For his part, Corney is now likely to target a new manager with significant experience of League One as he tries to rescue a campaign in which the club are currently odds-on at the bookmakers for relegation to the bottom division.

Early speculation concerns a possible return of former manager John Sheridan, who left for Notts County before the start of this season only to be sacked at Meadow Lane after a run of nine straight defeats in League Two.