Scottish Premiership club Hibernian announced Tuesday they had sacked manager Nick Montgomery after just eight months in charge.

Montgomery, who arrived from Australian side Central Coast Mariners in September, was under pressure following the team's failure to make the top six of the league last month, which the board branded as "simply unacceptable" in a statement released on April 17.

On Sunday, Hibs slipped to ninth in the table after crashing to a 4-0 home defeat by Aberdeen.

The embattled manager, a former Sheffield United midfielder, pleaded for "patience" in his post-match press conference but it was announced on Tuesday that Montgomery has been "relieved of his duties".

"As a board this was not a decision we made lightly, but felt it a necessary one to move the team forward," read a statement from the Gordon family, who own the Edinburgh club.

"Although Nick and his coaching team worked tirelessly, their efforts didn't deliver the results we had hoped for."

Former captain David Gray will take charge of the team for their last two games of the season, against Motherwell and Livingston.