Barnet will travel to Grimsby Town for their crunch relegation clash this Saturday without boss Ian Hendon.

He was sacked this morning.

Paul Fairclough, who was in charge before Hendon, will take the reins at Blundell Park this weekend.

The Bees have lost their last five games and, while Saturday's match at Grimsby looked like being a dead rubber a few weeks back, it has now become Barnet's biggest game of the season.

Most expected the Bees to be safe from the threat of relegation by the penultimate weekend of the campaign, but they still have work to do.

Grimsby are now just four points behind Barnet.

But, with just two games to go, the Bees only need a point on the north-east coast to guarantee survival and send the Mariners into non-league football.

However, that is still a daunting task. While Grimsby have been making a fight of it, the Bees have been plummeting like a stone in recent weeks. The latest losses were 1-0 defeats at home to Rotherham United on Saturday and at Accrington Stanley on Tuesday.

That defeat at Accrington was Hendon's last match in charge. Today, he found out that his services were no longer required.

Club chairman Tony Kleanthous said he gave Hendon every chance to be a success.

"I take full responsibility for appointing him and also perhaps for not taking action sooner. I am still sure that given the chance he will make a very good manager.

"Barnet simply cannot afford relegation and, after considering several options, we are turning to Paul Fairclough . . . He has experience and knows this club and the players."

Should Grimsby gain all three points this weekend, they would be just one behind Barnet going into the final match of the campaign.

The Mariners travel to mid-table Burton Albion on the final day of the season, while the Bees host promoted Rochdale.