PAUL Cox has resigned from his role as Barrow AFC manager.

Cox was appointed as Bluebirds manager in November 2015, and was contracted with AFC until the end of next season.

Last year, he led them to their highest-ever non-league finish – when they ended the season in seventh place in the National League – as well as the third round of the FA Cup and the quarter-finals of the FA Trophy.

Torquay United have already been linked with bringing in Cox to replace the recently axed Kevin Nicholson. It would be Cox’s second spell at the south coast club, should that prove correct.

He will be replaced in the interim at Barrow by assistant boss Micky Moore, who was only appointed by Cox last month.

The 45-year-old is believed to have had a contract which did not include a gardening leave clause, allowing him to leave without having to buy out his contract.

A similar clause in previous manager Darren Edmondson's terms with the club meant any clubs interested in his services following his dismissal two years ago had to negotiate a release with Barrow.

A club statement said: "Barrow AFC and Paul Cox have mutually agreed to his resignation from his role as First Team Manager, effective immediately.

"It was decided that this was in the best interests of both parties. Barrow AFC is grateful to Paul Cox for his work the past two years in taking the club forward. His efforts have made the club more professional both on and off the pitch. We wish him the best of luck in the next step of his career.

"Paul Ogden will stay in his role as Head of Football Operations and Michael (Micky) Moore will be interim manager until further notice.

"There will be no further statement on this matter."

Ahead of the start of the season, Cox spoke frequently about the need to strengthen the AFC squad, with numbers low less than two weeks before the beginning of the campaign.

The squad was hit during the summer by the exit of many of their big players. Jordan Williams (Rochdale), Nick Anderton (Blackpool) and Richie Bennett (Carlisle United) all joined Football League clubs, while captain Danny Livesey was among those released following the conclusion of the last campaign.

Notably, Cox would never be drawn on why decisions had been made to release any individuals, speaking only in general terms about his plans for the future.

He reiterated the point that he needed more strength in depth when Ogden was appointed as head of football operations following the first game of the season at Dagenham. That appointment was one Cox was only made aware of after it had been made.

He said he hoped Ogden's role would mean there could be more players brought in before the transfer window closed at the end of this month, but chairman Paul Casson seemed to contradict that during his recent visit from America, saying he did not see any further moves being made to add to the 22-strong squad.

Cox was visibly shocked when informed during a radio interview that Casson had said that. Less than two weeks later, he has gone.

It was notable after Saturday's 1-1 draw at Dover that Cox could not say if there would be more new faces, despite him entering only the fifth game of the season with just 15 fit players at his disposal.

Asked if he hoped there would be incomings, he said: “I really don’t know. You look at us and we couldn’t fill the bench. What I want to do is have a look at the players we have who are injured, assess them and when they are going to come back. We really can’t afford to lose any more – it’s got to where we couldn’t fill a bench.”

Cox is the second Barrow manager in succession to leave his post following an away match at Dover. Edmondson was axed from his role in 2015 after a 3-1 defeat at the Crabble – a fifth loss in six games – while Cox's last game in charge was the 1-1 draw in Kent.

In his two years in charge, the Nottingham-based manager oversaw a dramatic rise in Barrow's fortunes, taking the team from just above the relegation zone and guiding them to an 11th-placed finish in his first season.

Last year, he bettered that, with a 26-game unbeaten run across all competitions between August and December bringing the club to national attention.

They defeated League One Bristol Rovers in the FA Cup second round, and climbed as high as third on two separate occasions.

The second half of the campaign could not match the first and, after being disappointed with a lack of transfer activity to strengthen the squad in January – backing which Cox stated could well have seen the club gain promotion – AFC finished seventh, missing out on the play-offs.

This season, they started with a 2-1 defeat at Dagenham and Redbridge, but have been unbeaten in their four games since, with three draws and one win, to sit 12th in the National League after five games.

While the club have said there will be no further comments on the situation, Cox himself – who has been unusually hard to contact in the past few days – has been unavailable for comment since the news broke.