After news broke early on Sunday afternoon, Roar management took an ice-age to confirm reports of Mulvey's dismissal. It finally arrived, with the club saying Mulvey would 'step down' from his role, effective immediately.

His sacking comes after a review of Roar operations by the board and wealthy Indonesian owners, the Bakrie Group. Bakrie representative and Roar chairman Chris Fong hadn't arrived in the country to hand out Christmas cards.

Roar managing director Sean Dobson said: 'Head coach Mike Mulvey met with Brisbane Roar FC management today (Sunday). As a result, he will step down from the head coach's position.

"The board review of all of Brisbane Roar FC football operations was conducted in line with Brisbane Roar's commitment to continual improvement."

That supposed improvement hadn't included a stuttering start to the year, which saw Brisbane embark on a losing streak only broken by a 4-0 win over Newcastle, before a 1-0 loss to Melbourne Victory on Friday night.

The club appeared to have battled with the departure of key players Besart Berisha and Ivan Franjic, while an injury to keeper Michael Theo managed to send their backline descending into chaos.

The underperformance of replacement striker Mensur Kurtisi had many questioning the recruitment strategy, while veterans like Shane Stefanutto were also feeling the heat as Brisbane leaked 10 goals in their opening four games.

Mulvey was the toast of the league in Autumn as the Roar won their third title but little went right to start the new campaign, with rumours of player unrest adding to poor form and injury.

Mulvey joined the Roar in 2012 as a replacement for Rado Vidosic before being given a contract extension as he began to help the club rebound from a slump after the departure of current Socceroo coach Ange Postecoglou.