IAN Hutchinson looks set to be shown the door at the Bob Lucas Stadium after Terras’ officials held a secret meeting last night to discuss the club’s future.

Echosport understands chairman George Rolls met with several board members at Fleet Services where they came to a unanimous decision to sack the popular Teesider, following three successive league defeats, which has left the club nine points adrift of safety at the foot of the Zamaretto Premier Division.

Associate directors Nigel Biddlecombe, Mark Coleman and William Ronald were amongst those that voted against Hutchinson, who is due to be told the news later today.

Echosport contacted Rolls and Biddlecombe late last night but both men failed to shed any further light on the matter by refusing to comment.

It appears Hutchinson’s second spell has been hanging by a thread ever since Simon Etherington stepped down as an associate director at the start of last November.

Etherington was his closest ally in the boardroom and it is understood that he supported the under-fire boss when several directors were ready to wield the axe back in October after a 4-1 defeat at Windsor & Eton.

As for Rolls, he has been hesitant to make any knee-jerk decisions regarding Hutchinson ever since the end of last season when he reinstated the midfielder after having originally sacked him this time last year.

Last month, the majority shareholder even stated he was ready to extend Hutchinson’s contract beyond 2012 but it appears his hopes for stability have quickly evaporated since the start of the New Year, following a breakdown in communication over budget cuts and a run of poor results.

* Keep up to date with the latest developments at the Terras throughout the day on the Echo website.