National League North club Southport have announced that manager Kevin Davies has left the club.
The 41-year-old, who had only been in charge of the Sandgrounders for six months, has departed after guiding Southport to a 15th-placed finish following a 2-1 defeat to play-off chasers Spennymoor Town on Saturday.
Davies has now become Southport's 11th manager over the past five years.
In a statement on the club's official website, board member Phil Hodgkinson said: “On behalf of the Board I would like to thank Kevin for his effort and hard work over the last 31 games since he took charge. Kevin has put his heart and soul into the job and an unbelievable amount of time effort and commitment day in, day out, his work-rate and desire is to be admired, and nobody can question his endeavour.
“Kevin joined the club at a very difficult time, inheriting a disjointed squad on a run of heavy defeats, and a dressing room which was far from together.
“Undertaking a mid-season overhaul of that squad was a difficult task, however, following a long run of games without a win, and with the addition of First Team Coach Jon McCarthy, results started to improve at the turn of the year, with the club briefly flirting with the play-offs.
“The Board has made no secret of our ambitions for the Football Club, and those include a quick return to the National League. To do that we need to compete with the teams at the top end of the table.
“As custodians of the Football Club, we sometimes have to make tough decisions. We feel that to achieve our ambitions for the Club, we require somebody with extensive experience of both the level and also winning leagues.
“We wish Kevin all the very best for the future and have no doubt that he will be a tremendous success as a Manager. However at this time, it has become clear to the Board that this Football Club requires an experienced head to take us up the leagues.
“The Board are not inviting applications for the post, and it will not be advertised, we have identified a shortlist of targets with the requisite credentials we believe are required to take the Football Club forward, and we will be contacting those individuals (and their current clubs where appropriate) directly regarding the position.”
Davies had a distinguished playing career, representing the likes of Southampton, Bolton and Preston North End, gaining one England cap in the process. The striker hung up his boots in 2015 and embarked on his first managerial position at Haig Avenue in October last year.
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