Former Cork City striker Kieran Sadlier says he's "not entirely surprised" by John Caulfield's exit as manager.

Caulfield has departed his role as manager after a difficult start to the 2019 SSE Airtricity League Premier Division.

But in his time in charge, the ex-Cork City player-turned-boss led the club to the 2017 league title and two FAI Cups.

Speaking to Jamie Moore on the Off The Ball League of Ireland Podcast, Doncaster Rovers player Sadlier shared his thoughts on Caulfield's departure.

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"It's sad that he's left. Obviously, I know that they hadn't been on a great run recently this season," he said.

"But I think he's got to be remembered for all the good things he's done for the club. I was looking at his record earlier and he hasn't been outside of second place since he's been there.

"It's sad but I'm not entirely surprised, with the way that things were going. I try to keep up with it and watch the games but it's hard to watch them over here.

"But I've seen that they haven't been doing well results wise and I still speak to quite a few of the players. Obviously, it's unusual seeing Cork down at the bottom of the table after being at the top for so long.

"But to be fair, it's very hard to sustain being at the top for so long. And when you have 12 players left last season including myself, it's hard to recruit players that are going to be the same as those players.

"Because those players gave a lot to the club and were very good players as well. It's hard but I think they can come back and they can get back up the table.

"It only takes a few wins and you can try and start climbing again."

You can watch the full chat with Sadlier above via our YouTube channel.