GUISBOROUGH are looking for a new manager following the resignation of Steve Dowling after their 5-1 defeat at Ryhope CW on Tuesday, a result that left them rock bottom of the Ebac Northern League first division table without a win in 11 league matches.

Dave Markham and Chris Fairless have temporarily taken over and will be in charge for tomorrow's home game with Whitley Bay.

Dowling said: “My decision to resign has been a difficult one, but after last night’s defeat at Ryhope I feel a new face with new ideas is the way forward for this great club.

“I worked as hard as possible to turn things around, but it's tough when you lose 12 members of last year’s squad. I thought I could build a good team and tried every avenue, but ultimately to no avail.

“Our long injury list this season certainly hasn't helped, but that's not the only reason for our poor performances."

High-flying South Shields crushed Guisborough 6-0 last Saturday to keep the hard-pressed Priorymen anchored at the foot of the table.

Guisborough never had a look-in against the Mariners, who scored through Robert Briggs (2), David Carson, Carl Finnigan, Adam Wrightson and a penalty from Middlesbrough and Sunderland old boy Julio Arca.

In the past few months, Guisborough have suffered the loss of the entire spine of their team – goalkeeper, centre half, central midfielder and centre forward – as well as excellent players in other positions and those wholesale changes have brought consequences.

The season, which started brightly with a host of new faces in the Guisborough squad, has also brought the most unprecedented injury crisis ever seen at the KGV Stadium.

With Dowling having to “beg, borrow and steal players” to make up the team and the subs’ bench, the disruption to the squad has brought an alarming slide down to the very bottom of the league.

The cost from the game at South Shields was not only the loss of another three points, but also the loss of three players in Matty Pennal, Chris Youldon and Dave Onions, who all had to leave the field with bad injuries.

Dowling said after the match: “All our plans for yesterday’s game went out of the window as we conceded three early goals to a very good and mobile South Shields team. Once again, we were missing several first team players, but it was the start of the match that really killed us with three Shields goals inside the first 15 minutes.

"Then we conceded a very dubious 35th-minute penalty and, although our keeper James Dawson made a great save from Shields’ ex-Sunderland and Boro star Julio Arca’s spot kick, Arca then reacted quickest to put the rebound away.

"The second half was more of a match and, after more injuries forced three substitutions, we showed more drive and mobility.”