Crawley part company with manager Elliot

Rob Elliot took over at Crawley Town after Scott Lindsey left to join MK Dons in September

Crawley Town have parted company with manager Rob Elliot with the club 12 points adrift of safety in League One.

The former Gateshead manager, 38, took over at Broadfield Stadium in October after Scott Lindsey left to join League Two MK Dons.

Ex-Newcastle goalkeeper Elliot only won six of his 33 matches in charge of the Reds, losing 19.

He leaves the club 22nd in the league, with relegation looming in their first season back in the third tier.

Crawley said Louis Storey would step up as interim head coach, with Anthony Sweeney as interim assistant head coach.

"The club would like to thank Rob for all of his efforts during his time at the Broadfield Stadium and wish him all the best for the future," Crawley said in a statement.

Storey's first match in charge will be at home to Bristol Rovers on Saturday.

'Timing tricky but not a surprise' - analysis

BBC Radio Sussex's Crawley Town commentator Gary Smith:

There's a little bit of surprise with the timing of Elliot's sacking - nine games to go, who's going to come in now if they do appoint somebody brand new?

I know his coaching team are stepping into the breach as interim but if Crawley were looking to appoint somebody, maybe they're looking a bit further into the future.

It looks very unlikely that Crawley are going to get themselves out of trouble now with nine games to go and 12 points adrift of safety.

So maybe they're going to look to somebody who, over the end of the season and the summer, is going to assemble a squad that they want, ready for what looks like another assault at League Two next season.

The timing is tricky but it doesn't surprise me with the way the results have gone.

It's a results-driven business and Rob's results, or lack of results, sadly speak for themselves.