BOTTOM club Pontypool have fired head coach Gareth Lintern as they bid to secure a second Premiership great escape.

Lintern met with owner Frank Stanton on Monday evening and it was decided someone else should take over in the Pooler hotseat.

The club trail Gwent rivals Ebbw Vale by just two points but are yet to win this season and the final straw came at the weekend when they were demolished 68-21 by Llandovery at home.

It is a sorry end for Lintern who led the club back into the top flight and was in charge for the remarkable end of season run that saw relegation avoided by a whisker.

Pooler saved their bacon with five wins in their last seven games, including a victory at the Arms Park over champions Cardiff when the crucial bonus point was scored at the death.

They survived at the expense Bridgend but those uttering the words ‘never again’ have seen their club lurch straight back into another relegation dogfight.

Nonetheless, Lintern has looked back with pride at what he achieved at Pontypool Park.

“I am disappointed but we parted company by mutual consent,” said Lintern. “The Premiership is a challenging place for a head coach, as it should be I suppose, and they have to take ultimate responsibility for results. I think Sunday’s game between Neath and Cardiff showed where the Premiership is going with regional players, British and Irish Lions (Cardiff’s Dafydd James and Darren Morris) and a current Wales international in Craig Mitchell playing.

“We were always in with a shout against the likes of Bedwas, Cross Keys and Ebbw Vale but the game with Llandovery showed that the league has moved on this season.

“We have shown what the club is capable of by playing some terrific rugby and we have not been far off some of the top teams. But in this league some have some fearsome firepower to call on while others don’t.

“I have enjoyed my time with Pontypool and I have a lot of fond memories to look back on with pride – going back up and staying up were obvious highlights but there is also the part I played in helping to develop some terrific young players.

“There have been difficult moments, and I will probably get some Botox to get the frown lines out, but there have been plenty of highs.”

Stanton, who met the rest of the coaching staff to discuss their future, praised Lintern for pushing the club forward and said it was a hard choice to part company.

“We have embraced modern training methods and player development under Gareth’s direction and in the long term this will only benefit the club,” he said.

“He was an ambassador and consummate professional on behalf of Pontypool RFC.

“It is never easy taking such a decision but we felt that the time is ready for a different approach, which everyone at the club, including Gareth, hopes rescues us from our current situation.”

Pooler will hope to get their season up and running when they host last season’s Division One champions Carmarthen Quins, who are two places and eight points above them on Saturday.