• Reports say Keane has lost his job after 20 months • Club have slipped to 19th place in Championship

Roy Keane has been sacked as manager of Ipswich Town, according to reports last night. The club's owner, Marcus Evans, is believed to have brought an end to the Irishman's reign with Ipswich lying in 19th place in the Championship.

Speculation had been mounting that Keane would lose his job after a disastrous run of results which saw Ipswich lose seven of their last nine league games. The Daily Mail is reporting this sequence prompted Evans to call a halt to Keane's 20-month reign at Portman Road.

Keane spent more than £8m on players during his time in charge. After a disappointing campaign last season, he began this year with ambitions of reaching the Premier League as he had done at Sunderland in his previous managerial position.

After a strong start where Ipswich were unbeaten in the opening five fixtures Keane saw his side fall away and now the club find themselves in a battle to stay in the Championship.

Keane seemed to sense his position was under threat when he spoke candidly following last Saturday's 1-0 home defeat to Nottingham Forest. "I'm doing my best and if my best isn't good enough, then I'll take the consequences," he said.

"I don't expect you to be giving me phone calls if I do lose my job. It's the nature of the game. Even managers who win football matches lose their job, let alone managers who don't – George Burley last week, Darren Ferguson, Lawsy [Brian Laws], Big Sam [Allardyce], blah, blah, blah. Don't let my position keep you awake at night. What will be, will be."

The former Newcastle manager Chris Hughton and the former Derby and Wigan manager Paul Jewell are two of the names said to be in contention to replace Keane, as are Portsmouth's manager, Steve Cotterill, and Alan Curbishley.

The decision to part company with Keane comes just three days before the club's FA Cup third-round trip to Chelsea. Ipswich play the first leg of their Carling Cup semi-final against Arsenal on Wednesday night at Portman Road. The return is a fortnight later.