Harry Fay had been assistant to Joe McAree

Harry Fay has been sacked as manager of Dungannon Swifts after a series of disappointing results left the club second from bottom of the league.

The Stangmore Park club has just six points from eight Premiership matches.

Fay met with the club's board on Thursday night and is believed to have issued a 'back me or sack me' ultimatum after Tuesday's 2-0 defeat by Bangor.

James Slater has been appointed as caretaker manager and will be in charge for Saturday's trip to Institute.

Fay is believed to have called for a meeting with club officials after supporters their disgust to board members after Tuesday's home league defeat.

The 45-year-old took over as manager in 2006, having been assistant to previous boss Joe McAree.

During Fay's tenure, the club enjoyed an Irish Cup final appearance against Linfield and also competed in European competition and the Setanta Cup.

"I am disappointed but bear no ill-will to anyone at Dungannon as I've enjoyed my time there and have had some good experiences," said Fay.

"We have played in Europe and in the Setanta Cup and hopefully I have helped to lift the profile of the club.

"Last season was a transitional one as we had become the victims of our own success and other teams had cherrypicked our best players but this year I had brought in five or six quality players.

"The likes of Timmy Adamson and Marc McCann are good players and will be big players for the club but it will take a while for all the new faces to gel.

"We have also had injuries and although I have no doubt that our league position would have improved, I am well aware that this is a results-based business.

"Hopefully the club can keep up their momentum and I will take some time out and continue to work on my European Pro Licence."