Neil Warnock led Cardiff to Premier League promotion at the end of the 2017-18 season

Cardiff City have parted company with manager Neil Warnock.

The 70-year-old was in the final year of his contract at the Championship side and has said he would not carry on beyond the end of this season.

He was appointed in October 2016 and leaves with Cardiff 14th in the table after Sunday's loss to Bristol City.

"I am leaving my beloved Bluebirds after over three years of which have been some of the best days in my long football career," Warnock said.

"It is a shared belief that this is the right time for a new voice as we believe this squad of players is more than capable of getting success."

Cardiff have begun the search for a replacement and an announcement "will be made in due course".

Warnock, who has been in management since 1980, leaves the Bluebirds after 144 games in charge, with 59 wins, 29 draws and 56 defeats.

In his second season with Cardiff he guided them to promotion to the Premier League in the 2017-18 campaign.

It was a record eighth promotion campaign for Warnock as a manager, although they were relegated after just one season in the top flight.

Cardiff City chairman Mehmet Dalman said: "On behalf of Cardiff City Football Club, I thank Neil for his invaluable contribution to the future of this great club.

"He not only gained promotion but played a pivotal role in uniting the fans and the club. I am personally upset by his departure and wish him the very best for the future."

As well as thanking the Cardiff hierarchy, staff, players and fans, Warnock reserved special praise for the support of Dalman.

"I would especially like to thank Mehmet Dalman whom I have said many times has been one of the best chairman I have had the privilege to work for," Warnock added.

"His support has been immense, especially in 2019 which for many reasons both on and off the field has been the most challenging period both emotionally and physically that I have ever encountered."

Warnock said the death of striker Emiliano Sala, after the plane he was travelling in crashed in January, had been "by far the most difficult week in my career".

Analysis - 'Warnock a manager with Cardiff DNA'

BBC Sport Wales football correspondent Rob Phillips

Neil Warnock was exactly the right man for Cardiff City - his whole DNA suited that of the club.

The fans will not quickly forget his achievement of turning the club from being relegation candidates when he joined, to surprise promotion achievers the following season.

For that reason, Cardiff City fans will fondly recall Warnock's part in the club's history.

But it is fair to say Warnock never truly took to the Premier League, the cut and thrust of the Championship had always been more to his taste.

His statement is revealing in that he talks about the physical and emotional strain of 2019 being the "most challenging" he had ever encountered, when the club was consumed by the Emiliano Sala tragedy.

He will leave a huge hole at Cardiff, who need evolution rather than revolution now to move on from the sometimes derided Warnock football style.

There will be much work to do for the successor and as ever the next choice will be crucial, with Millwall's Neil Harris - a former Cardiff player - already among the favourites and Newport County's Michael Flynn boasting an eye-catching CV just down the road.