Notts County part company with manager Neal Ardley

Picture credit: Alamy

Notts County have parted company with manager Neal Ardley and assistant manager Greg Abbott.

Notts sit sixth in the National League, 14 points behind leaders Sutton United, after drawing 2-2 at Yeovil Town on Tuesday evening.

Ardley, who took charge in November 2018, left his post following a meeting with owners, Chris and Alex Reedtz.

The clubs is not inviting applications for the manager’s position.

The owners said: “We wish to place on record the huge respect we have for Neal both as a manager and a man.

“He stuck by this club through some of its darkest hours and has played a leading role in stabilising us following a devastating relegation, helping to maintain a close connection between the players, staff and supporters in the most trying of circumstances.

“We will never forget the job he did in guiding us to last season’s play-off final at Wembley and some of the excellent performances he has extracted from the team during our time at the helm.

“It has also been pleasing to see an upturn in recent results, including another spirited fightback last night, and we understand, therefore, that this announcement may come as a surprise to our supporters, who we know share our view that Neal is an excellent ambassador for the club.

“We do not, however, apply short-term thinking to decisions of this magnitude. We consider many factors which far outweigh our results in the last few matches and these deliberations have ultimately led us to conclude that we can be better, and that a change is needed to take us to the next level.

“Neal has always said that when the time comes for him to depart Meadow Lane, he will leave having helped to create a far better footballing environment than he inherited. He has undoubtedly achieved that and we will forever be grateful to him for his efforts in rebuilding a platform for the club to go on and achieve success.

“We would also like to express our gratitude to Greg, who has been a terrific support to Neal and a valuable member of our backroom team since his arrival last year. He and Neal depart with our very best wishes.”