Lee Clark resigns as Hartlepool head coach after Worthing defeat

Lee Clark resigned as Hartlepool United head coach on Saturday after the club's 3-1 home defeat to Worthing at Victoria Park, announcing his departure in a post-match interview with BBC Radio Tees. He left the role with immediate effect following the fixture.

Clark won three of his nine National League games in charge of Hartlepool. He had taken over at Victoria Park in the summer after a short spell with Rotherham United at the end of last season. Fans called for his head during Saturday's game as the club's slump continued. Pools were taken over in January by American businessman Landon Smith as the County Durham club aim to end their four-year stay in the National League.

The 3-1 loss was Hartlepool's third defeat in a row and left them 18th in the National League before the afternoon kick-offs. The result extended a poor run of form that had produced mounting pressure on the coaching staff. Supporter unrest was evident during the match as Hartlepool's results continued to deteriorate.

"I resign from my position with immediate effect," Clark, a former Newcastle, Sunderland and Fulham player, told BBC Radio Tees. "I wanted to give this club and the fans something to be proud of, what they deserve, but I haven't been able to do that unfortunately." The former Huddersfield Town and Birmingham City boss added: "I was excited to take the job and I wanted to be the man to get them back to where they need to be and deserve to be, but it hasn't worked out."

Clark's departure comes amid a sequence of poor results under his tenure and a backdrop of managerial turnover since the club dropped out of the Football League. The club will now begin the process of appointing a successor.

The search now begins for their ninth permanent manager or head coach in this period outside the English Football League. The vacancy follows a run that produced six defeats in seven matches.