Paul Lambert has left his position as Stoke City manager by mutual consent, the club has announced.
The Scot replaced Mark Hughes at the bet365 Stadium in January with the brief of keeping the club in the Premier League. Stoke were 18th at the time and ultimately they finished one place lower and were relegated to the Championship having won only once under Lambert.
“Stoke City can confirm that Paul Lambert has today left his position as manager by mutual consent,” said a club statement. “We would like to thank Paul for his work over the past four months and wish him well for the future. While he was unable to guide us to Premier League safety, it certainly wasn’t due to a lack of effort, professionalism and dedication on his part.
“The club will appoint a replacement as soon as possible in order to give the new manager time to prepare for the challenge of the 2018-19 season in the Championship.”
David Moyes and Sam Allardyce, who left West Ham and Everton respectively this week, are among those linked with the vacancy at Stoke, who spent 10 years in the Premier League having been promoted under Tony Pulis in 2008.
