Greenacre is an assistant at the club and became the interim manager of the Phoenix in 2013 after former coach Ricki Herbert resigned.

Buckingham is a former first-team coach at Oxford United in English Football League One, and Football Development Manager at WaiBOP and Capital Football.

The club is set to undergo a thorough process to fill the role full time.

Merrick was in the job for three years but conceded he had fallen short of the lofty requirements of an A-League coach.

“I take full responsibility for the position the team is currently in," Merrick said."I feel that I have not performed well enough as Head Coach, as we have a very strong squad that should be higher up the table.

"It's therefore the right time for me to step aside and allow someone else to take over. We have a run of home games coming up and I think this will give my successor the best opportunity to take the team forward.”