David Noble’s second spell at the Clarence Park helm is over after he paid the price for St Albans City’s poor start to the season.

The Saints confirmed Noble’s departure last night, claiming it was “by mutual consent” following a “long conversation” with chairman Lawrence Levy.

Director of football Harry Wheeler has been put in charge in the short-term, including for Saturday’s fixture against Chippenham Town at Clarence Park, but the club will begin the search for a replacement “immediately”.

The 42-year-old former midfielder returned to the club in May following an ill-fated spell in charge at National League Wealdstone, but he leaves with Saints currently fourth from bottom of the table with just two wins from their 16 games.

Noble’s departure comes after the club were also dumped out of the FA Trophy on Saturday, losing 2-1 at home to Northern League Premier League outfit Basford United with the now former boss admitting “we weren’t good enough”.

“I want to thank David for the considerable contribution he has made to this club as a player, manager and coach,” Levy told the club website.

“As a player, he was key to our FA Cup run and victory over Forest Green Rovers in front of a sell-out crowd at The Park in 2021.

“When former manager, Ian Allinson, left the club David took over the role of manager at short notice and led the club into the play-offs, taking us to the National League South Promotion Final. This season he then led us to victory in the Herts Charity Cup Final.

“I will always be thankful to David for his tireless effort to achieve success for this football club. David is a very talented coach and well respected in football but also someone I consider to be a friend. Everyone at the club wishes him the very best for the future.”

Turning to the search for Noble’s replacement, the chairman said: “The club is focused on the recruitment process, and we will be updating supporters in the near future on this.

“In the meantime, we hope that fans will come along on Saturday, to show their support and get behind Harry and the team.”