Football: Duffy is sacked by Hibernian

After Saturday's 6-2 defeat at Motherwell, Jim Duffy pledged to stay on as Hibernian manager until told otherwise - and he did not have long to wait. Duffy was summoned to a board meeting on Sunday and told that his 13 months at the Easter Road helm would end yesterday.

The former Celtic captain and manager Billy McNeill, Hibs' director of development, will take temporary charge of team selection.

The Hibernian chairman, Lex Gold, has launched the search for a new manager, with Tommy Burns, the former Celtic manager now assisting Kenny Dalglish at Newcastle, among those linked. "Managers at every level have to be measured by results," Gold said. "Things have not gone our way for a while and recent losses effectively made the decision for us."

Hibernian are four points adrift at the bottom of the Premier Division. "It is the first time it has happened to me in football," said Duffy, whose assistant, Jackie McNamara, was also sacked. "People say there are better managers than me who have got the sack too, but it doesn't make me feel any better. I am hurt and disappointed that it has not worked out."