John Sheridan: Chesterfield sack manager with club struggling in National League

Chesterfield finished 14th in the National League last season, having been in the relegation zone when John Sheridan took charge in January

National League strugglers Chesterfield have sacked manager John Sheridan.

The 55-year-old, who returned for a second spell as manager in January 2019, leaves with the Spireites third from bottom of the table.

A statement said the decision "was taken with the best interests of the club in mind" with only 17 league games of the season left to play.

John Pemberton has been named as caretaker-manager and will take charge against Sutton United on Saturday.

On Monday, Chesterfield announced there was an agreement in place for the club to become community-owned, with the Chesterfield FC Trust set to increase their shareholding to 84%.

Company secretary Ashley Carson said: "The decision [to dismiss Sheridan] was taken after full discussion [on Wednesday] with majority shareholder Dave Allen and also with Mike Goodwin, chairman of the Community Trust, who is heading up the potential takeover of the club.

"Whilst I think we all knew the time was right to make this change, it is important that I work very closely with Mike, as ultimately we look forward to a change of ownership very soon.

"There will be a joint plan going forward so that any decisions taken regarding the appointment of a new manager will be made in full agreement with the Community Trust."