James Robinson has left Ballarat Red Devils after two years with the club.
In a short statement, the club said he departed unexpectedly on Tuesday evening.
Robinson took over the reigns at Morshead Park for the club’s inaugural season in the NPL in 2014, with the club suffering relegation on the final day of the season.
The Red Devils almost bounced straight back up in 2015, finishing fourth in a tight race for the promotion spots in NPL 1 West.
In the process, the Englishman was voted NPL 1 Coach of the Year by his peers.
The 33-year-old is best known as a cult hero for Melbourne Victory fans after scoring a decisive header against Adelaide in the 2006/07 A-League major semi final against Adelaide United.
The Englighman’s career had taken him to Crewe Alexandra, Altrincham and Accrington Stanley in his homeland and IBV in Iceland, before joining Richmond in the VPL in 2006, where his performances caught the eye of Victory management.
While he only played seven games and scored one goal for the club, the strike sunk heated rivals Adelaide and sent the navy blues to a Grand Final.
After being released he had a short stint for Marconi Stallions, before playing for Perth Glory and the now defunct North Queensland Fury.
His post A-League career saw him feature for Oakleigh Cannons, Bulleen Lions, Dandenong Thunder and Sriwijaya in Indonesia.
Ballarat was his first role in senior management.
The club also announced former Socceroo Alan Davidson as youth football manager.
After a distinguished career yielding 79 caps for Australia and prominent playing stints at South Melbourne and Melbourne Knights, he most recently coached South Melbourne Women’s in 2014 and was at Brunswick City in a youth development and assistant role in 2015.