Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink has been sacked as Northampton manager with the club lingering in the League One relegation zone.
The Cobblers are without a win in their last nine games and fell to a 2-0 defeat at Peterborough on Monday to leave them two points adrift of safety.
"We are sorry to see Jimmy depart as he has worked very hard for us, but felt a change at this point was in the best interests of the club," chairman Kelvin Thomas said on the club's website.
"We thank Jimmy for his work as manager of Northampton Town and we wish him the very best for the future."
Former Chelsea forward Hasselbaink was appointed as Northampton boss in September with the club bottom of the table.
The 46-year-old has been unable to drag the Cobblers out of the drop zone, though, and with five games to go Thomas felt he had to act.
Assistant manager Dean Austin will take over as caretaker boss for the rest of the season, assisted by youth-team coach Jon Brady.
Thomas added: "We understand we are in a very tough spot and what the task in hand is, but I'm confident that the players, supporters and staff will all unite behind Dean and Jon for the remaining five games of the season.
"It has certainly been a challenging time for the club, but we need to look forward and put our full focus on these remaining five fixtures."
Hasselbaink had insisted he would not resign after being told to quit by the visiting supporters during the loss at Peterborough.
In his postmatch press conference, the Dutchman said: "We are where we are because we do not kill teams off. It's very tough at the moment.
"I have always fought in my career. I will always say it's possible and I will fight to the bitter end. I'm not the kind of person to give up.
"The fans are entitled to say what they want, but I think from this performance the chants are unfair."