THE FA Cup defeat to Shaw Lane was the final nail in Micky Moore's Barrow AFC coffin.

Bluebirds managing director Andrew Casson confirmed the insipid display in going down 2-1 to the Northern Premier League high-fliers on Sunday had made the decision for the club on the manager's future.

The manager was sacked this morning, less than a month into a two-and-a-half-year contract in charge of the team.

A club statement confirmed the parties had parted ways, after a run of only one win from Moore's 11 games in charge on either an interim or permanent basis.

Moore is now on a gardening leave arrangement similar to that which kept Darren Edmondson technically employed by the club when he was axed two years ago.

Casson, who watched the display in South Yorkshire along with father – and club owner – Paul, confirmed defeat to Shaw Lane made it impossible to keep Moore in situ, despite putting their faith in him only four weeks ago.

“After the game on Sunday, we didn't want to get back on the bus and drive back up here, because we didn't really want to be in the presence of any of the players – we just thought the whole affair was shocking,” said Casson.

“Sunday just demonstrated that, for whatever reason, they are not giving Micky their best efforts.

“We spent the whole way back figuring out how best to tackle this. We stayed up late into the night wondering what went wrong, and things like that. Unfortunately, at the end of the day, you can't get rid of 20 players – the axe has to fall on the man at the top sometimes.

“It's no reflection on his ability as a manager, or his work ethic. We were in training all week, we watched what he had done, watched how he had prepared them, and it was phenomenal what they were were doing in training; the way they were playing and their energy levels were fantastic.

“But somehow those things weren't translating into points. When you get a run of 11 or 12 games and you only pick up six points and lose an FA Cup match, that speaks for itself.”

Moore's record as Barrow manager reads 11 games played, one win, four draws and six defeats – though he is far from the shortest non-caretaker tenure in the club's history.

That unwanted accolade goes to David Hughes, who replaced caretakers Alan Coglan and Billy McAdams in July 1977 but resigned two days later, to be replaced by Brian McManus.

But Casson felt it was still the right decision to give Moore the chance, and asked if he accepted he had been the wrong appointment, the Barrow MD said: “I don't think so. I think that there are very few managers who would have come in and had more success than he did.

“Given the injuries, given the attitudes behind the scenes, I think it was a very, very, very difficult situation. It was going to be difficult for anyone to succeed.”