The 56-year-old Englishman has been relieved of the reins after the conclusion of an inquest into a season which saw Glory finish three points off the play-offs in eighth spot.

And that despite possessing a squad considered more than capable of a top-six position.

Lowe was appointed as coach in April 2014 after a four-month stint as caretaker after the axing of Alastair Edwards.

And hopes were high in the west of another championship tilt, after reaching last season’s preliminary final before falling 3-0 to Sydney FC.

Just 10 wins, two draws and 15 losses, prompted owner Tony Sage, who has backed Lowe staunchly to this point, to order the post-mortem which sealed Lowe’s fate.

Amid rumours that he could go as soon as Friday, CEO Peter Filopoulos, who is overseeing the enquiry into what went wrong alongside general manager of football Jacob Burns, told The World Game: “We’re conducting a brutal review and it’s ongoing."

After the formal announcement, Filopoulos said the club axed Lowe because of disappointing results and the desire to head in a fresh direction.

"We never shied away that we wanted a top-four finish at the beginning of the year, and we felt the squad should have done better than what it actually did in the end," Filopoulos said.

"We just felt generally as part of the review that after four-and-a-half years, we needed a new fresh approach in the coaching ranks."

Lowe declined to attend the press conference, with the emotion too raw.

"Kenny is an incredible man. And it's incredibly raw and emotional. He needs to process this," Filopoulos said.

"But we're delighted Kenny will remain at the club to play an instrumental role."

It’s believed that former Western Sydney Wanderers coach Tony Popovic, who is open to an A-League return after his ill-fated spell in Turkey, is near the top of Sage’s wishlist to take charge in 2018-19.

During his time at the Glory, Lowe guided the club to 52 wins, 27 draws and 49 losses during his 128 games.

Lowe will now move into a youth role at the club and will take up the role of technical director at the Glory Academy.