GUS Poyet’s reign as Albion manager is heading for an acrimonious conclusion after the club suspended him.

Poyet’s assistant Mauricio Taricco and first team coach Charlie Oatway have also been suspended.

The dramatic development in the saga over Poyet’s future was announced by the club last night.

They said in a brief statement: “Brighton and Hove Albion confirm it has suspended its manager, assistant manager and team coach from their duties.

“The club will now follow its internal procedures with regard to this matter and will make no further comment at this time.”

No reasons have been given for the suspensions but The Argus understands they relate to numerous alleged breaches of contracts.

Poyet refused to deal with the retained list, announced by the club earlier in the day.

He told the squad at a meeting at The Amex on Tuesday he would not be involving himself with players’ contracts, because they were not his decisions and he might not be the manager next season.

Players leaving and staying at the end of their contracts were dealt with instead by chairman Tony Bloom and head of football David Burke.

Poyet, linked with a succession of Premier League posts, hinted at leaving in the immediate aftermath of Monday night’s Championship play-off semi-final defeat by arch-rivals Crystal Palace at The Amex.

During his post-match press conference, he demanded assurances from Bloom he would have enough money to continue improving the team after their promotion near-miss.

Those remarks are not, however, thought to be instrumental in the action taken by the club.

Poyet’s relationship with Bloom and other senior figures has deteriorated in recent weeks.

The Uruguayan almost joined Reading in March and his decision to stay only papered over the cracks.

His wide-ranging powers have been reined in since the appointment last year of chief executive Paul Barber, who was on the Board at Spurs when Poyet lost his job as assistant to Juande Ramos.

It became an open secret within The Amex that Poyet would leave at the end of the season, irrespective of how Albion fared in the play-offs.