Hereford United part company with Jamie Pitman

Hereford United have confirmed first-team coach and former manager Jamie Pitman has left the club.

Pitman, 36, managed United from October 2010 until March 2012 when Richard O'Kelly was brought in.

He stayed on as first-team coach under O'Kelly for the remaining 12 games of the League Two season that ended with relegation on the final day.

Bulls chairman David Keyte said the decision over Pitman was taken after O'Kelly quit following relegation.

"I spoke with Jamie Pitman on Friday when I told him his contract would be terminated with immediate effect," said Keyte.

"The financial settlement will be in line with the termination clause in Jamie's contract, which had one further year to run.

"To date, we have received some 20 applications for the vacant position of manager and we'll be working hard to complete the process over the next two weeks."

Keyte has confirmed director of football Gary Peters will not be the next manager at Edgar Street, but the former Shrewsbury Town boss will be assisting in the recruitment process.

Pitman was initially asked to step up from physiotherapist to caretaker manager when Simon Davey was sacked in October 2010.

Assisted by Lennie Lawrence and then Dave Kevan, Pitman guided the club to safety in League Two at the end of the 2010-11 season and was awarded a two-year contract.

But United struggled last season and Peters was brought in to work alongside Pitman as director of football.

Pitman eventually stepped down as manager in March 2012, but was kept on as first-team coach at the insistence of incoming manager Richard O'Kelly.

As a player, Pitman first joined United in 1996 and had two spells at the club in which he made a total of 182 appearances, scoring 17 goals.