10/03/2008 - Mansfield Town 0 Rochdale 4
It was a desperately sad end to what is almost certainly the final chapter in the managerial career of one of the game's most colourful characters.
Billy Dearden had hoped to bring down the curtain on his time as a boss with one last hurrah - guiding Mansfield to League Two safety.
Instead, his final moments out on the pitch in charge of a team saw him walk, head bowed, and with pockets of fans calling for his head, towards the tunnel.
Dearden must have known what was coming. He knew full well a 4-0 home defeat on the back of seven straight defeats and a draw was simply unacceptable.
It took less than an hour for his fate to be sealed. A fleeting discussion with chief executive Stephen Booth and that was that.
While the news was announced to the media, Dearden was saying his goodbyes to his players and backroom team.
Then it was off home to contemplate just how, in the space of 90 minutes, a match that could have seen the Stags climb out of the League Two relegation zone had ultimately cost him his job.
The answer, of course, was that his team, who he has always backed to the hilt, were simply atrocious and let him down badly.
So bad were Mansfield, that scores of fans walked out as early as the 55th minute in disgust, just moments after Dale had killed the game with a third goal.
Come the full-time whistle after another visiting strike, plenty more had followed suit - and who could blame them?
Spineless, hopeless, gutless and clueless were just four of the adjectives used to describe the home performance by disconsolate supporters.
And on a day when it was hard to find a positive display from any man in amber, the players were hardly in a position to disagree with such descriptions, nor did they.
What began as another disappointing start, as Dale went in at the break a goal to the good, ended up as the worst home defeat of the season.
In fact, the scoreline could have been even worse but for a couple of decent saves from goalkeeper Carl Muggleton.
The visitors scored a second within 90 seconds of the restart and from then on it was a procession to which there was only one inevitable outcome.
In explaining the reasons for Dearden's departure, Booth hit the nail on the head by describing the way Mansfield gave up as a "capitulation".
For Rochdale it was a day when they put their promotion aspirations firmly back on track after a run of five defeats.
It was also a triumph for skipper Gary Jones who crowned a record-breaking 346th appearance for Dale with a slick brace of goals, as well as an eye-catching performance in the centre of the park.
His leadership and know-how was exactly what Mansfield were missing in that area and allowed some of the visitors' more creative players to go and do their thing.
One of them was ex-Stag Adam Rundle, who had a terrific game down the left flank utilising his direct running and accurate crossing.
With Mansfield already suffering, it was a final ignominy to see a player they have struggled to replace for the best part of two seasons running them ragged.
Had he not trod on the ball, the Geordie might have given Dale an early lead after playing a neat one-two with Jones. As it was, it was an error from Gareth Jelleyman - when he took too long trying to clear and was caught in possession - that led to Rochdale's 27th minute opener.
Kallum Higginbotham nicked the ball and laid it off to Rene Howe whose low pull back was fired home by the late-arriving Jones.
Some people were still taking their seats after purchasing a half-time pie when Dale doubled their advantage. Rundle supplied the cross from the left and Adam Le Fondre strode in, unchallenged, to slot home from close range.
A half-cleared free-kick that was powered home by Jones from the edge of the area brought Rochdale's third - and started the boos from a previously patient home crowd.
And Mansfield's misery was completed in the 67th minute when Le Fondre's simple flick on set Howe clear and he strolled around Muggleton to tap the ball into an empty net.
Perhaps the only encouraging sight was the return of Alex John-Baptiste for his first start since the game at Chesterfield on December 22.
But even he was unable to lift the Stags and looked a little out of sorts understandably after such a long lay-off, before he was substituted in the second half.
What is abundantly clear is that the new manager - set to be named as Billy McEwan - has to make changes.
The team is not working, especially defensively, and needs a new direction, as well as some new faces.
Thankfully, there are a couple of weeks to bring in new players and there are funds available to make that happen. Whether it is too late for the new boss to pull Mansfield out of the mire with just 12 games to go, though, only time will tell.
But for Dearden that is no longer an issue. There will be no training ground this morning, only a paper, armchair and slippers.