GOTHENBURG legend Mark McGhee has left his role as Aberdeen manager following a desperate 17 months in charge of the club.
The club announced on its website that McGhee, along with assistants Scott Leitch and Colin Meldrum have left the club, without giving details of whether it was voluntary or not.
The announcement was made just a few hours after it was decided that all SPL matches would be postponed this weekend, when Aberdeen were due to play Celtic.
The 9-0 demolition by the Parkhead club merely a month ago will now be remembered as McGhee's darkest hour at the club where he became a highly-decorated player.
But the free weekend will now give the interim manager a good week-and-a-half to prepare the team for its first game without McGhee at the helm.
McGhee was up against it from the start, as it became public knowledge that he had been interviewed for the Celtic job before accepting the Dons offer of the managerial position at Pittodrie.
His first game in charge then saw a record home European defeat for the Dons to unknowns Sigma Olomouc.
The boss still had the vast majority of fans onside at this point, despite a stuttering start to the 2009/10 SPL campaign, with many blaming the previous manager Jimmy Calderwood for leaving the club in a poor state in terms of player quality.
However, Calderwood had taken that group of players into Europe by finishing fourth in the previous campaign, mainly by digging out results - something McGhee singularly failed to do in his time at Pittodrie.
McGhee's Dons also disappointed in the cup competitions - where the manager was expected to improve upon Calderwood's shocking cup-exit statistics.
But despite an improved showing in the League Cup this season, a great start to the campaign and some astute signings including Scotland international Paul Hartley, a run of 4 points out of 39 available meant McGhee inevitably had to depart.
AFC chairman Stewart Milne expressed disappointment that things had not worked out as hoped during McGhee's brief spell as boss.
He also told the official AFC website RedWeb: "On behalf of everyone at the Club, I would like to thank Mark, Scott and Colin for their time at Aberdeen.
"It goes without saying that everyone at Aberdeen Football Club wishes Mark, Scott and Colin every success in the future."
Milne confirmed that the search for a new manager would commence immediately, and details of interim arrangements will soon be announced.
McGhee, ironically, leaves the next manager with a decent group of players once all fit, including many of the country's best young talent, and a Co-Operative Insurance Cup semi-final to enjoy in January.
Aberdeen-Mad would like to wish Mark McGhee all the best in the future, and is gutted that it didn't work out for someone who will always remain a club legend.
