Greenock Morton have sacked manager Ian Murray and first-team coach Bill Orr with immediate effect, with the Championship club sitting bottom of the table after a winless start to the season.
Murray, who was appointed in January, leaves after less than a year in charge at Cappielow. His final match was a defeat to Inverness, extending Morton’s winless run to 17 games and leaving them rooted to the foot of the William Hill Championship.
The club confirmed that Michael O’Halloran and Gary Miller will take charge of first-team affairs until further notice. O’Halloran and Miller, the club’s head of youth academy and emerging talent, will lead Morton into Saturday’s home fixture against Raith Rovers.
In a statement, the board thanked Murray and Orr for their “hard work, commitment and professionalism”, while urging supporters to back the interim management team and players at Cappielow this weekend.
Murray’s departure comes against a backdrop of severe financial uncertainty at the Greenock club after the clubs finances took a hit after major sponsor Dalrada encountered business difficulties, leaving the club with a black hole of around £335,000 in their accounts.
The club said in September that, thanks to its Fighting Fund, season-ticket sales, player sponsorships and commercial income, it expected sufficient resources to operate through to the new year, but warned that external investment remained essential for long-term stability.
Murray had previously managed St Mirren, Dumbarton, Raith Rovers and Airdrieonians before taking over at Morton in January.