Barnsley have announced that they have sacked head coach Darrell Clarke.
The Tykes have spent much of the campaign in firm contention for promotion to the Championship after a solid campaign.
Not until December were back-to-back defeats recorded by the Yorkshire outfit in League One, narrow losses to Wrexham and Birmingham City respectively.
However, despite having recently put together a three-match winning streak between February 22 and March 1, Clarke has been removed from his position with immediate effect.
They are not the first team to do so with Huddersfield Town having parted ways with Michael Duff last weekend.
Barnsley Football Club can confirm that Darrell Clarke has been relieved of his duties as Men's First Team Head Coach.
— Barnsley FC (@BarnsleyFC) March 12, 2025
What have Barnsley had to say?
On Tuesday night, Barnsley suffered their joint-second heaviest defeat of the season as they went down by a 3-0 scoreline at home to Blackpool.
That has seemingly proven pivotal in a change in the dugout being made, despite chairman Neerav Parekh acknowledging that it had been a difficult season for "various reasons".
As quoted by the club's official website, Parekh said: "We would like to thank Darrell for his efforts in a season which has been difficult for various reasons.
"Darrell has worked extremely hard to try and get the team competitive and pushing for promotion, unfortunately, we find ourselves eight points away from the playoffs and feel that a change is needed."
Sporting Director Mladen Sormaz added: "Whilst a list of replacements has been identified, we will take some time to ensure the next appointment is the right one with a focus on playing identity, returning to high pressing and attacking football.
"We believe that Conor can help to create enough bounce to keep us fighting for the top six until the end of the season. We will also be working in parallel to have a new head coach in place over the summer."
Thirty-four-year-old Conor Hourihane had been assistant head coach to Clarke and will be taking on his first senior position since retiring in December.
Hourihane is a club legend having contributed 31 goals from 134 appearances between 2014 and 2017, a period in which Barnsley earned promotion to the Championship.
© Imago
Can Clarke feel aggrieved?
In 44 matches in charge, Clarke has delivered 17 wins, nine draws and 18 defeats in all competitions.
Rotherham United, Northampton Town and Lincoln City were all recently beaten in quick succession, but Barnsley are now 10th in the League One table and eight points adrift of sixth place.
Since the start of 2025, Clarke overseen seven losses in 13 games, collecting 16 points during that time.
Darren Plant
