Sammy Lee has paid with his job for Bolton’s poor start to his first Premier League season in charge.

Five points from nine games and a share of the bottom place in the table has evidently proved too much for chairman Phil Gartside.

The official word coming out of Bolton is that the parting of the ways was by “mutual consent”.

Perhaps more accurately, though, it was the spectre of relegation that did for Lee.

That might sound ridiculous with just nine games of the season played, but the philosophy inside the Reebok is that relegation must be avoided at all costs.

It seems as though the club have decided they cannot wait to see whether Lee’s more attacking brand of football will eventually hoist them up the table.

The success of his predecessor, Sam Allardyce, was built on a willingness to embrace new methods and techniques allied to a steely, physical style of play.

The net result was that Bolton were difficult to beat, with the focus on clean sheets rather than free-scoring football.

In contrast, Bolton conceded eight goals in their first three Premier League games of the current season as Lee abandoned the 4-5-1 system favoured by Allardyce for a more adventurous 4-4-2.

It set alarm bells ringing within the Reebok - as well as illustrating just how difficult it would be for the new manager to try to emulate the success of Allardyce with a different system.

Bolton’s form did improve, with the club unbeaten in five games before a 1-0 loss to Chelsea in what proved to be Lee's last game in charge.

Even in that defeat, Bolton were unlucky not to take a point off Avram Grant’s side, with Petr Cech was arguably the busier goalkeeper.

The club reached the group stage of the Uefa Cup and remain in the Carling Cup after an extra-time victory over Fulham at Craven Cottage.

The defensive improvement was clear to see in that Bolton did not concede more than one goal in Lee’s final seven games.

But of the five-game unbeaten run, Bolton failed to win either of the two that were Premier League matches, and the club have lost three of their five home fixtures in the league.

Lee’s team collected a solitary point on the road in the Premier League and won just once overall in the league – the 3-0 win over Reading on 25 August.

Perhaps inevitably, while the team struggled on the pitch there were rumours that Lee’s impact on the dressing room lacked the desired gravitas.

When Lee was assistant manager under Allardyce he was very much the good cop of the partnership. He was popular with the players, who felt at ease in the presence of the amiable scouser.

Lee would often say “I repeat” as he tried to emphasise a point in training. After a while the players would jokingly start a sentence with the same words.

Immediately following the loss to Chelsea, Lee said: “I was pleased. I don’t want people to misread that but the application of the players was superb.”

It is difficult to imagine Allardyce being quite so philosophical after another Premier League defeat at home.

Lee is regarded in football as a nice guy, but he showed a single-minded determination in dropping skipper Kevin Nolan and player-coach Gary Speed from the squad for the match against Chelsea.

Summer signings Danny Guthrie and Gavin McCann played in the centre of midfield instead.

Nolan has been in miserable form this season, while confusion surrounded Speed's decision to step down as player-coach to concentrate solely on playing.

Rumours started to emerge, suggesting that Lee had just a couple of games to save his job.

True or not, Lee and Bolton have now parted company, though the curious thing about it is the timing.

Bolton’s last fixture was on 7 October – 10 days ago – yet in just three days they take on Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.

The bottom line, however, is that the board have decided to bring in a new man while Bolton remain in touch with the teams above them.

It could be said that Lee's departure when his team are two points adrift from safety is a rash move.

But the club obviously want the new manager, whoever he may be, to have as much time as possible to lift the club to safety.

As Lee has found to his cost, Bolton cherish their top-flight status more than anything else.

But have Bolton made the right decision? And who should they appoint as their new manager?