Ross County’s relegation fears deepened last night following the shock resignation of Owen Coyle, leaving the club searching for their third manager of the season.
Stuart Kettlewell, the club’s under-20s coach, is believed to be the frontrunner to replace Coyle – at least until the end of the season.
Coyle and assistant Sandy Stewart stepped down just five months after taking the reins at Victoria Park and have left the Dingwall side three points adrift at the foot of the Premiership.
Coyle was appointed Ross County manager on September 28 last year, only four days after his predecessor, Jim McIntyre, was sacked following a poor start to the season.
The former Burnley, Bolton and Blackburn Rovers boss made an encouraging start with three wins in his first six games before a dire run of 13 matches without a win saw County plummet to the bottom of the Premiership table.
Although County showed a brief improvement in form at the beginning of last month with a 4-1 victory at Dundee, Saturday’s 2-0 defeat to St Johnstone proved to be Coyle’s final game in charge.
The surprise announcement comes less than 48 hours before the Staggies’ biggest game of the season at Victoria Park tomorrow against relegation rivals Partick Thistle, who are only three points ahead of them in the race to beat the drop.
With only 10 Scottish Premiership matches remaining to escape bottom spot, Kettlewell, who guided Ross County to the SPFL Development League title last season, is believed to be the leading candidate to replace Coyle, who cited family reasons for his decision to step down.
The 51-year-old said: “Myself and the chairman had a chat on Monday and after some reflective thought I felt for the good of Ross County – and the challenging situation with my family being in England – it was in everyone’s best interests for me to offer my resignation, which the chairman duly accepted.”
County chairman MacGregor said: “We thank Owen and Sandy for their time at Ross County Football Club and wish them well for the future.”
The Staggies have five Premiership fixtures remaining before the split, with a crucial match in the fight to avoid the drop against Partick tomorrow followed by a trip to Rugby Park to take on Steve Clarke’s resurgent Kilmarnock side next weekend.
A home match against Hamilton Accies follows on March 17 before a visit to Parkhead to take on league leaders Celtic at the end of the month. Neil Lennon then takes his Hibernian side to Victoria Park on April 7.
