National North
Legendary boss Steve Kittrick has been drafted in to save Guiseley from relegation back to the NPL Premier Division.
Joint bosses Marcus Bignot and Russ O’Neill have been placed on gardening leave for the for the rest of the season.
Kittrick, who will be assisted by former Athersley Rec boss Luke Potter, guided Guiseley to the National North in 2010 and is regarded as one of their greatest managers due to the success he achieved at Nethermoor.
Guiseley are five points adrift from safety with only seven games to go.
Kittrick, who has also managed AFC Telford and Scarborough Athletic in the past decade, has been out of the game since leaving Matlock Town in 2020.
A statement said: “The Guiseley AFC board of directors have made the difficult decision to place the management team of Russ O’Neill, Marcus Bignot and Paul Clayton on gardening leave for the remainder of the season.
“Under the stewardship of Russ, Marcus and Paul the club has reached the FA Cup first round proper twice and second round once, whilst being on the verge of the playoffs in the covid affected 2019/20 season.
They can also be credited for giving debuts to and contributing to the development of several of our academy graduates which is unrivalled at this level of football.
“Latterly they have competed valiantly against teams with vastly superior budgets, it is unfortunate the position we now find ourselves in especially given the unavailability of several players throughout the season.
“We will be forever grateful for the tireless work they have put in for the club, and whilst wishing them the very best in their future careers, hope to see them back at Nethermoor soon supporting the team.
“Former manager Steve Kittrick will take over as caretaker manager for the remainder of the season, assisted by Luke Potter. Steve was previously with Guiseley between 2008 and 2013, winning 179 of his 311 games in charge whilst leading the Lions to promotion to the Vanarama National League North and subsequently the Vanarama National League North playoffs on three occasions.”