Bristol City have parted company with head coach Sean O'Driscoll.

The 56-year-old leaves Ashton Gate with City currently 22nd in League One after just two wins in 18 matches.

He took charge in January with the club bottom of the Championship and was unable to save them from relegation.

Lansdown defends O'Driscoll sacking

"We have given the situation as much time as we could to improve but have become increasingly concerned about the club's league position," said vice-chairman Jon Lansdown.

"The league table does not lie. We are currently in the relegation zone and have been there for most of the season.

"This is not acceptable and the board feels that it needs to take action to try and rectify this."

Assistant John Pemberton will take charge of the first team for Saturday's visit to Preston.

O'Driscoll, a former Republic of Ireland international, previously managed at Bournemouth, Doncaster, Crawley and Nottingham Forest.

He was sacked by Championship Forest on Boxing Day 2012 after five months in charge and three weeks later he replaced Derek McInnes as head coach at Bristol City.

Ashton Gate's revolving door Sean O'Driscoll: Jan-Nov 2013

Derek McInnes: Oct 2011-Jan 2013

Keith Millen: Aug 2010 - Oct 2011

Steve Coppell: May 2010 - Aug 2010

Keith Millen: Mar 2010 - May 2010

Gary Johnson: Sep 2005- Mar 2010

O'Driscoll won three of his first five games in charge of City, but they failed to avoid relegation in May after claiming only two victories in their final 15 games of the season.

He overhauled the squad in the summer and, with the backing of the board, set out his plan to bring stability to a club that despite heavy investment, had fought relegation for two seasons.

City still have one of the biggest budgets in the league and were tipped for promotion. But, after failing to win in their first 12 games, they find themselves third from bottom in the table.

In total, O'Driscoll oversaw just 11 victories in his 44 games in charge of the club.

"We need to move to ensure that results on the pitch keep up with progress off the pitch," added Lansdown.

"It is vital that we now look to appoint a head coach who buys into our strategy and can help us to continue to grow and develop it successfully. This, of course, includes results on the pitch."