Stoke City on Friday announced that manager Paul Lambert had left his position at the relegated Premier League club by mutual consent.

 A statement issued on Stoke’s website reads “While he was unable to guide us to Premier League safety after being appointed in January, it certainly wasn’t due to a lack of effort, professionalism and dedication on his part.

Lambert replaced the sacked Mark Hughes but was unable to turn around the fortunes of the club, who finished second-from-bottom of the Premier League.

 Paul would like to thank the board, players and staff for the opportunity and their support,” the statement added. “He would also like to thank the fans for their unwavering support. While looking forward to his next challenge, he would like to wish the club every success next season. The club will appoint a replacement as soon as possible in order to give the new manager time to prepare for the challenge of the 2018/19 season in the Championship.”