Bradford City have confirmed on their official website that manager Stuart McCall has had his contract terminated following a poor run of form. 

The Bantams are still in the League One play-off places but have lost their last six games, the most recent of which was a 2-1 away defeat against Oldham Athletic, who find themselves in the division's relegation zone.

Bradford's next match is at Valley Parade against Bury and it remains to be seen whether they will have the new man in place before that fixture on Saturday afternoon.

The statement on the club website read: "This decision has not been taken lightly, and this is a sad day for everyone involved. 

"We would like to place on record our sincere thanks to Stuart, who joined the club at a difficult time and restored the fans' belief when the odds were much against us.

"Unfortunately, we have now suffered six straight defeats and the last two fixtures in particular have not brought about the positive change in performances or results that we all hoped for.

"We believe that our current squad is capable of performing to a much higher standard than we have seen recently.

"We must all accept responsibility for the recent poor run of form, including our players who now have the opportunity to put it right.

"As such, we believe that a change is in the best interests of the club at this time in order to give us the best chance of finishing the season strongly.

"Finally, everyone at Bradford City would like to thank Stuart McCall for giving us all some wonderful memories. In two spells as a player and two as a manager, he has always given his absolute commitment to our club.

"Stuart is a City legend and always will be. He will, of course, always be welcome back at Valley Parade."

The Verdict

It is rare to see a manager, especially one who is so popular at a club, get the sack when he sits in the play-offs but Bradford's run of poor recent form, and the galling nature of their last two defeats, means that the powers that be at Bradford had little choice.

The club has lofty ambitions and as it stands, they are on the slide out of the play-off places and something needed to change.

Bradford had a fairly uninspiring transfer window but despite that, the new manager will still have a talented squad of players to work with, one who have got enough to get up into the second tier.

Bradford fans - what do you make of McCall's sacking? Who do you want in to replace him? Let us know in the comments below...