Keith Curle: Oldham Athletic boss leaves club eight months after appointment

Oldham Athletic head coach Keith Curle has left the League Two club by mutual consent after just eight months in charge at Boundary Park.

The Latics have won only one of their past nine games in all competitions and are currently third from bottom.

Tuesday's defeat away at Curle's former side Northampton was their 11th this term, more than any team in the league.

The ex-England international defender's exit comes as fans continue to protest against the club's ownership.

In a statement the Latics said: "The club would like to thank Keith for his efforts during his time at Boundary Park and would also like to wish him well for the future. His assistant Colin West has also been relieved of his duties.

"Selim Benachour will step up from the academy and take over as interim head coach for the time being, with the club making no further comment now as the team continues its preparations for the game at the weekend."

Curle, 58, who replaced Harry Kewell in March, took more than an hour to speak to the media following the loss at Northampton and said that he was not "shying away" from the club's position.

Asked by BBC Radio Manchester whether he was being supported by the club behind the scenes, including sporting director Mohamed Lemsagam, Curle said: "The support that I need comes on the pitch.

"The second-half performance, we need more of that. That's what gives us a chance and the opportunity to get the football club out of trouble and on the path to where we need to be."

The former Carlisle and Cobblers boss led the Latics to just nine wins from his 40 games in charge, and leaves with the club currently two points outside the relegation zone and in danger of dropping into the National League next season.

Curle's departure means that it is owner Abdallah Lemsagam's ninth change in head coach since his arrival at the club in 2018.

Oldham make the short trip to local rivals Salford City on Saturday before taking on Sunderland in the Papa John's Trophy next week.

'Oldham's revolving door spins again'

Analysis - BBC Radio Manchester's Mike Minay

It never got off the ground for Keith Curle. He was a stop-gap initially following the departure of Harry Kewell before taking on the role full-time in the summer.

There's no doubt he didn't get the time he wanted and he was always adamant he could pick up their fortunes once players returned from injuries, and maybe after some deals in the transfer window.

We will never know whether that would have happened, however.

The revolving door of managers at Oldham Athletic spins again. Fans struggled to warm to Curle and results didn't help that. But they'll now have to get behind a ninth managerial appointment under owner Abdallah Lemsagam.