Glenavon have sacked their manager Colin Malone after a run of bad results in the Irish League Premier Division.

The final straw came in the form of a 2-0 defeat away to Crusaders on Saturday, a result which left them just one off the bottom of the table.

Malone was informed of his dismissal shortly after the game at Seaview.

A brief statement from the club said Malone had been relieved of his duties because of a series of poor results.

I will leave it to other people to point the finger to where the real blame lies Colin Malone

The Glenavon board plans to meet early next week to appoint a caretaker manager.

Malone's assistant was Alan Fraser, himself a former team boss at Glenavon. Malone had taken over as Glenavon boss just two weeks before the start of the 2000-01 season.

The Lurgan club was in something of a crisis at the time as several big-name players departed.

However, in his first season in charge Glenavon qualified for the Uefa Cup by finishing runners-up in the Premier Division of the Irish League.

Last season they finished seventh as big budget cuts at the club started to bite.

"A manager lives or dies by his results and ours have not been good," said a dejected Malone.

"But I was not backed by the club, just like other managers at Glenavon.

'Head held high'

"The continued cost-cutting has been very hard on the team.

"But I am leaving with my head held high.

"There are a number of good things on my record like bringing the youth through and qualifying for Europe.

"The game against Crusaders was a big one for us and we did not perform.

"I am disappointed to be going this way. I gave 100 per cent to the job and nobody can fault my effort.

"I will leave it to other people to point the finger to where the real blame lies."