Waterford FC began the search for a new head coach this morning with Danny Searle being "relieved of his duties".
The London native was named as head coach in June of 2022, following Gary Hunt and David Breen who had taken interim charge of the club following the departure of Ian Morris.
Searle oversaw the run toward the promotion playoffs which ultimately ended with the Blues staying in the first division for 2023.
During his time at the club, he guided the team to the FAI Cup semi-finals with Damien Duff's Shels knocking them out at the final four stage.
The early season form in the 2023 season has not been what many would have hoped for, and while signings were made to strengthen the squad, Searle has been operating this season without two key players from last season in Pheonix Patterson and Junior Quitirna.
In a statement released this morning, the club says "everyone at Waterford FC would like to place on record their thanks to Danny for his hard work and professionalism during his time at the club."
The statement adds that the "search for his replacement will begin immediately, with Brian Murphy taking charge of the first team in the interim period."
The Blues are currently fifth in the table after five games (2W, 2L, 1D) with a game in hand on all the teams above them in the table. They are 10 points off the pace of table toppers Galway, who are yet to be beaten.
It is a very similar situation to what happened with Ian Morris last season. After ten games, the team was fifth, at which point the club pulled the plug with the interim team of Hunt and Breen taking charge.
Former goalkeeper Murphy will be taking charge of the team for the time being and will be in the dugout this Friday when Finn Harps come to the RSC.
