Simpson sacked by North End

Preston have sacked manager Paul Simpson following the club's disastrous start to their Coca-Cola Championship campaign.

North End have won just three of their 16 league encounters this term and lie 21st in the table.

Saturday's abject 3-0 surrender at Hull proved the final straw and has prompted chairman Derek Shaw to call time on the former Manchester City, Derby and Wolves midfielder's 17-month reign.

Simpson was appointed at Deepdale as Billy Davies' successor in June 2006 after guiding his hometown club Carlisle to successive promotions.

But, despite an initially encouraging start to Simpson's tenure, Preston fell apart towards the end of last season and missed out on the play-offs.

Their slide has gathered pace this term, with Simpson's failure to engineer any kind of consistency from his players making him a target for disgruntled fans.

Assistant manager Rob Kelly will take charge of first-team affairs until a long-term replacement is found.