David Dunn has been placed in interim charge of Blackpool after the League One side sacked Simon Grayson on Wednesday.

A midweek defeat to Gillingham proved to be the end for former Rovers defender Grayson who took charge in the summer, replacing Terry McPhillips.

That was a 13th defeat in 38 games, with the Seasiders slipping to 15th in the table, 13 points behind the play-off spots.

Dunn has been placed in interim charge after the departure of coach Ian Miller, alongside Grayson, and it will be his second spell as a manager after a brief time at Oldham in the 2015/16 season.

His first game in charge will be this weekend’s trip to Bristol Rovers.

Blackpool owner Simon Sadler said: “Given his past success here, Simon Grayson will always be a part of the club’s history and I would like to wish both him and Ian Miller well for the future.

“While the process of appointing a new manager gets underway, I would like to thank David Dunn for agreeing to take charge in the interim.”

Dunn had been out of the game, prior to his Bloomfield Road appointment, since leaving his position as Rovers Under-23s assistant manager in 2018 after they won the Premier League 2 Division Two title.

The 40-year-old, who made 377 appearances for Rovers across two spells, was also part of the first-team coaching set up in the final months of the 2016/17 Championship season, working alongside Tony Mowbray after he replaced Owen Coyle.

But after the arrival of Mark Venus, Mowbray’s long-term assistant, in the summer of 2017, Dunn went back to work with the Under-23s for a further season.

He will now take over as caretaker boss as the Seasiders look for their third boss since ex-Rovers manager Gary Bowyer left on the opening day of the last season.