Mike Brewer has left Sale Sharks after less than nine months © Getty Images

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Players/Officials: Pete Anglesea | Mike Brewer

Tournaments/Tours: Aviva Premiership

Teams: Sale Sharks

Head coach Mike Brewer has been shown the exit by Aviva Premiership strugglers Sale Sharks.

The New Zealander, who succeeded Jason Robinson in the role in April, will be replaced by academy coach Pete Anglesea until the end of the season. Anglesea will be assisted by new forwards coach Steve Scott, along with backs coach Byron Hayward and defence coach Graham Steadman.

Sale have slipped to third-bottom in the Aviva Premiership table after losing their last four matches in all competitions and face a difficult trip to Leicester on Monday. Defeat at Welford Road, along with a victory for Newcastle against Leeds at Kingston Park, could see the Sharks drop into the bottom two, raising the prospects of a relegation fight.

Owner Brian Kennedy said: "We would like to thank Mike for the dedication and commitment he has shown to the club. I am personally very disappointed that this has not worked out as I have a great deal of respect for him and of course I wish him all the best for the future."

Kennedy went on to commend the attributes of Anglesea, who played 126 games for the club, and confirmed that the search for a long-term successor would now begin.

"Pete Anglesea is the obvious choice to lead the team in the short term," Kennedy said. "He has been part of the club for many years as a player and his coaching record this season with the Jets and the LV= Cup squad is exemplary and he has yet to taste defeat. "We will now undertake a thorough search to secure the best coaching team and structure for the future.

"We have a superb crop of young players coming through the academy, a set of established internationals plus the desire to make a number of key new signings over the next six months."

Brewer's arrival at Edgeley Park followed a poor 2009-10 campaign when Sale finished 11th in the Premiership, just four points above relegated Worcester. But he has been unable to make an impact, although his job was not made easier by injuries to key players, including Mathew Tait, Charlie Hodgson and James Gaskell, the young forward prospect he appointed skipper in August.

Sale's squad also includes the likes of current England internationals Andrew Sheridan and Mark Cueto, Wales scrum-half Dwayne Peel, Samoan international fullback Paul Williams and Fijian No.8 Sisa Koyamaibole.

But performances have not been delivered on a consistent basis, with just three league scalps - Newcastle, Harlequins and Leeds Carnegie - claimed since he took charge, while their last Premiership game under Brewer's direction resulted in a 24-19 defeat at newly-promoted Exeter.

And in Europe's second-tier Challenge Cup, Sale are seven points behind Brive with just two games left. Only group winners progress to the quarter-finals.