The duo joined the club from Bradford City in 2016, and have overseen 156 matches for the whites. Despite the club currently being in administration and the future of the side looking uncertain at many times over the past few months, they had previously been the one constant for fans of the whites.

In their period in charge of the club, they guided Bolton Wanderers to automatic promotion back into the Championship, despite their limited resources due to the club being under a transfer embargo at the time. In the following season, they defied all odds to secure the club a spot in the league, with a more than memorable 3-2 win against Nottingham Forest, the whites netting twice in the last ten minutes of the match.

The club's thoughts

In a statement this morning on for the bwfc.co.uk , a club spokesperson said:

“During what has been one of the most challenging periods in the club’s existence, both Phil and Steve conducted themselves with the utmost professionalism and dignity throughout"

After talking about the duo's past an achievements, the club then offered their well-wishes for the two in their future careers:

“Against all the odds, they helped to preserve the club’s Championship status the following season on the final day of the campaign with a memorable last gasp victory against Nottingham Forest.

“Everybody at Bolton Wanderers Football Club would like to thank Phil and Steve for their dedication and loyalty and we wish them the very best for the future.

“They leave the University of Bolton Stadium with their heads held high.”

The club's academy manager, Jimmy Phillips is to take charge of training the first team until a manager is selected. With no indication as to who will be in the dugout for their next match against Ipswich Town (if it goes ahead), BBC Radio Manchester's Mike Minay provided some insight as to who may take the position this morning on his twitter:

Whites in turmoil

Currently in administration, Bolton and their neighbours Bury are both experiencing some of their worst times off of the pitch in the history of their club. Bury have not played a professional game this season and are close to expulsion from the league, whilst Bolton have had a number of matches suspended and are playing a team of incredibly young players - most of which debuted this season.

Currently on -11 points due to a penalty incurred for entering administration and picking up a point in their game against Coventry City, Bolton's main aim for this season will be to avoid the drop into League Two. The side will want to use this season to try and secure matters off of the pitch, to protect the integrity of the club for the future.

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