Glenn Roeder has resigned as Newcastle boss amid intense speculation over his future.
It is understood Roeder has walked away from St James' Park after 15 months in charge following Saturday's 2-0 home defeat by Blackburn which left the Magpies sitting 13th in the Barclays Premiership table.
The club is yet to confirm the development following hours of speculation that the 51-year-old was summoned to an emergency board meeting earlier on Sunday.
His decision came after days of rumours linking former Bolton boss Sam Allardyce with his job, although chairman Freddy Shepherd insisted he had not spoken to the man to whom he offered the position in 2004.
Football365Glenn Roeder has resigned as manager of Newcastle United following an emergency board meeting at St James' Park.
His future had been the subject of intense speculation in the wake of Sam Allardyce's departure from Bolton, although Freddy Shepherd insisted last night that he had not spoken to the outgoing Wanderers manager.
He told the north east's Sunday Sun: "I have never spoken to Sam Allardyce. I don't know where all this is coming from."
But Roeder's situation was brought into sharper focus by yesterday's 2-0 home defeat by Blackburn which ended their faint hopes of European qualification and even left them looking at a 12th-place Barclays Premiership finish at best. Angry fans staged a prolonged protest against the chairman, the manager and the board following the match after booing the players off the pitch.
Former Newcastle skipper Roeder's reign at St James' Park lasted just 15 months. He was appointed on a permanent basis in May last year after guiding the club into the Intertoto Cup as caretaker manager.
Shepherd had to win the approval of his Premiership colleagues to waive rules which state that managers must have the Uefa Pro Licence, which ironically Roeder is now close to completing.
However, injuries to key players - Newcastle lost record signing Michael Owen for the bulk of a season before a ball had been kicked - and limited transfer funds tied his hands to an extent.
But performances on the pitch have not lived up to the demand of the success-starved St James' crowd with the team managing just one win in nine matches and failing to score in five. The crescendo of boos that followed the players off the pitch after defeat to Blackburn was effectively the death knoll for Roeder.
The fact that arch-rivals Sunderland clinched the Coca-Cola Championship title with a 5-0 victory at Luton today did little to improve the mood on Tyneside.
Roy Keane..anybody taking bets?
