Dave Cooke has left his post as Nantwich Town manager by mutual consent, the club has revealed.
He took the job in 2017, replacing Phil Parkinson and, last season, reached 300 games with the club, an association that goes back to his first game as player-manager in 1984.
Player coach Ritchie Sutton has taken over as interim manager and will be supported by Cooke until a new manager is appointed. But the club hopes Cooke will stay on in a recruitment capacity.
Nantwich were knocked out of the FA Cup on Saturday with a 2-0 defeat at home to Congleton in the first qualifying round. They have also had a slow start in the Northern Premier League, Premier division, finding themselves second from bottom with three points from six games going into Tuesday night's home game with Belper.
Dabbers chairman Jon Gold paid tribute to Cooke, saying: "Under Dave's guidance and management, the club has enjoyed many memorable and exciting occasions and great successes over the past five years, including reaching the first-round proper of the FA Cup twice, two Cheshire Senior Cup wins and producing a team that has constantly competed at the top end of the division, despite having a lesser budget than most of our peers at this level.
"He has also played a significant part in identifying, recruiting, and developing numerous young players and we are hopeful that we will be retaining his vast and invaluable experience that will see him continue to assist the club and future management team in a recruitment capacity, as his DNA is woven into the fabric of Nantwich Town Football Club over a lifetime, and we are all extremely proud of his achievements.
"There will be an announcement on Dave's successor as soon as possible and we have already started the process of identifying the right person for the role and more importantly the club and the community that we proudly represent, and I am sure that you will all give Ritchie and the team your full support as they prepare for our upcoming games.
"The board of directors would like to place their sincere thanks on record to Dave and each and every one of his management team, for all their hard work and the amazing memories that they have provided us all with, and I am sure that all fellow NTFC supporters will be doing the same."
Cooke had plenty of experience before taking the Nantwich job five years ago. He had been part of the management team at Northwich Vics and also had a spell as assistant manager at Shrewsbury Town.
His achievements with Nantwich include taking the club to the first round proper of the FA Cup in his first season back as manager, in 2017/18, when they were eventually knocked out by League Two Stevenage, and again in 2019/20 when they were beaten by National League side Fylde.
Interim manager Ritchie Sutton rejoined the club this summer as a player coach. He had previously made 40 appearances for the club in the 2009/10 season before moving into the Football League with Port Vale.
He went on to make more than 150 appearances for Mansfield Town and more than 100 for Tranmere Rovers, winning promotion to the Football League with both. He had further spells at Barrow, Morecambe and Altrincham before joining the Dabbers in July.
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