Former Norwich City defender Michael Nelson has left his role as Scunthorpe United's head first-team coach.

Nelson and The Iron confirmed his departure due to personal reasons, after a difficult period for the Lincolnshire club.

The 43-year-old moved to Glanford Park in September last year to assist interim manager Tony Daws, taking over as interim manager himself after three months in the job.

He remained at the club after the appointment of new permanent manager Jimmy Dean following a takeover of the club, taking up the position of head first-team coach.

In a statement released on his Instagram account, Nelson said of his departure: "My time at the club has come to an end.

"I have been given an opportunity to work extremely close to the family home which will allow me to be at home with my family every night (something I haven't been able to do throughout a lot of my career).

"Although my time at the club came at a very turbulent time I thoroughly enjoyed working with the fantastic staff there. Not just the football staff, but all the office staff and hospitality staff as well.

"Thank you to Lee Turnbull and Tony Daws for bringing me in at the start and thank you to Jimmy Dean and Tony Plummer for keeping me involved once they arrived.

"Also a big thank you to owner Dave Hilton for giving me some security with a contract once he arrived.

"A massive thank you to all the supporters for their support, trust and belief during some very challenging times.

"The biggest thank you has to go to Paul Musselwhite who was there right by my side through the most challenging of times.

"I really hope this club goes on to have a long period of success now and I'll be watching closely."

Nelson joined Norwich in 2009, going on to become a regular starter as they returned to the Championship at the first time of asking. He scored the goal that earned that promotion in a 1-0 win over Charlton.

He left the club on transfer deadline day in January 2011, signing for Scunthorpe as a player for an undisclosed fee.