Soccer:Mark McGhee has parted company with Aberdeen tonight, the Scottish Premier League club has confirmed
The 53-year-old has found himself under increasing pressure following a run of poor results but had recently been given a vote of confidence by the Pittodrie board. His assistants Scott Leitch and Colin Meldrum have also left the club, with the Dons now sitting second bottom of the League.
Chairman Stewart Milne said: "On behalf of everyone at the Club, I would like to thank Mark, Scott and Colin for their time at Aberdeen. It goes without saying that everyone at Aberdeen Football Club wishes Mark, Scott and Colin every success in the future."
Milne will begin the search for a new manager immediately but "without any timescale being set on the appointment". Details of interim arrangements are set to be announced shortly.
Aberdeen have suffered defeat in their last six games in the SPL, including the 9-0 thrashing to Celtic last month - a club record defeat.
The Dons were set to face Celtic again this weekend, before all SPL games were postponed as a result of severe weather conditions. McGhee appeared to have the backing of club bosses when they confirmed on November 11 that he would remain in the role.
That announcement came following lengthy discussions between McGhee and the board following intense speculation he was set to be axed when the heavy defeat to Celtic was followed by another loss to Inverness.
Despite finding himself under pressure, the Dons boss had stated his determination to fight to transform the fortunes of the club, with his troubled 17-month reign looking set to continue.
A statement at that time from Milne confirmed: "While there is a recognition that we do require to change some aspects of the way we operate, as a result of these talks, Mark's position as manager remains and he, along with everyone else at this club, is fully focused on improving results on the park."
But, since then, results have failed to improve, with defeats to Rangers, St Johnstone and Kilmarnock following and the Dons failing to find the back of the net in any of those matches.
Saturday's 2-0 loss to Kilmarnock left Aberdeen second bottom of the SPL table, with only goal difference keeping them above Hamilton.