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Newcastle United have announced that vice-president Tony Jimenez has left the club.

The 43-year-old former agent (pictured, left) has handed in his resignation in order to pursue "other interests".

A statement on the club's official website read: "Newcastle United can today confirm that Tony Jimenez has left the club.

"Tony, who was appointed vice-president (player recruitment) in January, has made the decision in order to pursue other interests.

"Newcastle United thanks Tony for all his hard work and efforts and wishes him every success in the future."

Jimenez was appointed in January to the newly-created role of vice-president (player recruitment), and was charged by owner Mike Ashley with the task of using his extensive contacts within the game to assist executive director Dennis Wise and technical director Jeff Vetere (pictured, right) in bringing some of the best talent in world football to St James' Park.

However, the ambiguities of the new management structure led to tensions with then manager Kevin Keegan, who subsequently left the club in September, complaining that he had no say over transfer dealings.

Keegan is yet to be fully replaced, with former Wimbledon manager Joe Kinnear currently in charge of first-team affairs on an interim basis. While several consortia interested in buying the club have vowed to re-appoint Keegan, that will almost certainly not happen with the current set-up remaining at the club.

The controversial hierarchy has been labelled the 'Cockney Mafia' by the club's fans and blamed for Keegan's departure and the poor results that have followed. However, unlike his fellow London-born colleagues Ashley and Wise, Jimenez has mostly escaped any personal attacks from supporters and media alike.

Newcastle are currently third from bottom in the Premier League, with the 2-2 draw at Everton at the weekend bringing to an end a run of five straight defeats in all competitions.

Tony Mabert / Eurosport