Sheffield Wednesday Football Club can confirm that Brian Laws has left the club by mutual consent.

The club would like to place on record our wholehearted thanks to Brian for his dedication, commitment and tireless effort in managing first team affairs over the past three years.

Assistant manager, Russ Wilcox, and development coach, John Dungworth, will also leave their positions and we thank Russ and John for their considerable contribution to Sheffield Wednesday alongside Brian.

Sheffield Wednesday chairman, Lee Strafford, said: "Brian Laws has done a very good job as manager of Sheffield Wednesday, particularly in light of the low level of resources at his disposal in the first two years of his time with the club.

"However, we believe that change at this point can deliver fresh energy and direction into first team affairs in order to arrest our recent run of results and help push the club up the Championship table.

"A very positive legacy has been left by Brian in terms of the quality of the playing squad we now have at Sheffield Wednesday and we will now focus our attentions on securing the right manager to help these players push up the league in the short term and make us competitive for a return to the Premier League in the long term.

"Brian has put in an immense amount of work as manager at this club and he should be remembered for some genuine achievements on the pitch and for stabilising Sheffield Wednesday in the Championship. On behalf of the club I must thank him for his unwavering dedication in his role as manager and we wish him the very best of luck for the future."

The club would also like to assure our supporters that Brian Laws' departure at this point does not disrupt the investment process and that progress continues on this front.

In the mean time, academy manager, Sean McAuley, will be appointed as caretaker manager, with responsibility for first team affairs as Sheffield Wednesday start the recruitment process for a new permanent manager.

"We are very fortunate to have someone of Sean's capabilities within our club to drive change and ensure that SWFC's best interests are served. We will not rush into the next permanent appointment as this will be a key appointment in terms of determining the long term future of our club," Strafford added.