By Martin Walker
Darlington have tonight parted company with manager Mark Cooper and his assistant Richard Dryden.
Quakers chairman Raj Singh has reluctantly made the decision following Saturday's 3-1 defeat at Braintree Town.
In a statement, Singh is quick to thank Cooper and Dryden for bringing the club's "greatest day ever" with the FA Trophy victory back in May, when Chris Senior's dramatic injury-time goal secured an historic victory on a memorable afternoon at Wembley.
But he also says, despite backing his manager a fortnight ago, the manner of Darlo's back-to-back defeats against Barrow and Braintree were "the final straw".
Singh tonight said: "It's with huge regret that we part company with both Mark and Richard - nobody wanted it to work more than me.
"I feel that I built up an excellent working relationship with Mark over the last 16 months and I'd like to thank him and Richard for their hard work and dedication and, of course, for bringing us the club's greatest day ever with the FA Trophy win at Wembley.
"But results have not been anywhere near where we wanted them to be and our recent results have been closer to relegation form than promotion form, which has been baffling.
"I supported Mark with a strong budget and I backed his judgement in bringing in a number of new players, even up to last week when we brought in two new players, because we wanted to give him every chance to turn this around.
"But we said from the start of the season that our ultimate aim this year was promotion, and we've been nowhere near it, despite having one of the best squads in the Conference which is strong enough to be competing for the play-off places at least.
"I decided to publicly back Mark a fortnight ago and we were lifted by wins over Stockport and Kidderminster, but the last two results and, more importantly, the manner of the defeats were, for me, the final straw.
"The rate of players coming and going at an alarming rate, which has been reminiscent of our situation a couple of years ago, has also been an area of major concern."
Singh added that Cooper has left the club on good terms.
He said: "I make every single decision in the best interests of the club and I've thought long and hard about this situation for a few weeks, while also speaking to a lot of people I know in the game, and eventually I've come to this very reluctant conclusion.
"Mark and Richard worked tirelessly to make it work but it just wasn't happening and, as everyone knows, football is a results business.
"But we leave on good terms. Mark was a pleasure to work with, I consider him a friend and I wish him all the best in the future."
Singh says the search for a new manager starts straight away, with the aim of having a new manager in place in time for the next league game, at home to AFC Telford United a week on Saturday (November 5).
