Glentoran have announced that they have accepted the resignation of manager Alan McDonald with immediate effect.

A statement from the board said they wished to "thank him for his earnest endeavours on behalf of Glentoran and wish him well for the future".

McDonald told the club's directors of his decision following the club's 2-0 away defeat by Dungannon on Saturday.

Coach Scott Young will take charge until the end of the season with Tim McCann and Pete Batey his assistants.

Young fulfils the necessary licence requirements as he is currently doing his Uefa A licence and will undertake his PRO licence in the summer.

McDonald guided Glentoran to last season's Carling Premiership title.

Saturday's defeat left the Glens a point behind leaders Linfield with the Blues having three games in hand.

Glentoran have suffered eight defeats in their 30 league game and only managed 14 wins.

McDonald thought long and hard about his future after the embarrassing 6-0 home defeat by Coleraine in early November.

606: DEBATE I can't believe he is walking away with the Glens still in the Cup and still with a slim chance of lifting the title. windsor15percent

The ex-Northern Ireland centre-back needed an escort from the ground as some Glentoran fans vented their fury after that defeat.

He did not attend the Co-operative Cup game against Glenavon three days later on medical advice before informing Glentoran officials of his decision to stay on.

However, Glentoran's league form has remained woefully inconsistent over the last four months in spite of some good results in the cup competitions.

With hopes of retaining the league title now effectively gone, McDonald has come to the conclusion that he can do no more with the team.

However, the timing of McDonald's decision could hardly be much worse for the Glens outfit.

They face Linfield in the JJB Sports Irish Cup quarter-finals next weekend and also have the Co-operative Cup decider against Coleraine to come on 27 March.

McDonald was appointed as Glentoran boss in June 2007 after Roy Walker's one-week reign was cut short because he didn't have the required Uefa licence.

The new manager guided the Glens to the County Antrim Shield in his first year in charge.

Last year, McDonald's Glens clinched the league title as well as guiding the team to a narrow Setanta Cup final defeat by Cork City.

However even in the moments after last season's league triumph, the manager spoke of doubts whether he would remain in charge.

In the event, he did agree a new two-year deal later in the summer but last summer's success now seems a long time ago.

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