Jody Morris: Swindon Town sack head coach after 18 games in charge
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Jody Morris worked alongside Frank Lampard at Chelsea until January 2021
League Two side Swindon Town have sacked head coach Jody Morris after only 18 games in charge.
The 44-year-old was appointed at the end of January following Scott Lindsey's departure to Crawley Town.
The Robins were sixth in the table at the time, but only won four matches under him and are now 10th.
It was former midfielder Morris' first managerial role, having previously been Frank Lampard's number two at Derby County and Chelsea.
His final game in charge was Saturday's 2-1 defeat at Crewe and his assistant Ed Brand, who only joined in March, has also left the County Ground.
"Our aim when they took over was to push on and finish the second half of the season strongly, but as a club, we haven't achieved our objectives," a club statement said.
"With just one more league game remaining before we reach the conclusion of the season, we feel now is the right time to take a fresh approach as we look to bring success back to this great club for 2023-24."
Swindon reached the play-offs last season before losing to Port Vale over two legs, but are now 17 points outside the top seven ahead of their final game of the season, against Lindsey's Crawley.
Steve Mildenhall and Gavin Gunning will be in interim charge for that fixture on 8 May.
Morris made 173 appearances for Chelsea as a player between 1996 and 2003 and also had spells at Leeds, Rotherham, Millwall and St Johnstone, before ending his career at Bristol City in 2013.
He joined Chelsea's coaching staff after retiring, where he worked with their youth players, before moving to Derby in 2018 to work alongside Lampard.
The following year, the pair moved back to Stamford Bridge when Lampard was appointed head coach for the first time.