Hearts manager Paulo Sergio has left the club after rejecting a new contract from the Scottish Premier League side.

The 44-year-old was appointed in August 2011 following the departure of Jim Jeffries.

The Portuguese guided the team to the Scottish Cup last season with a 5-1 win over rivals Hibernian in the final at Hampden Park.

Following that triumph, Sergio admitted that he was unsure over his future.

"I appreciate the road the club is now going down and respect what our board is doing, but I cannot accept the offer made to me," he said in a statement.

"I want to say many thanks to everybody who worked with us, including our board, and special thanks to our supporters. I wish the very best to this great football club and I am now just one more Hearts supporter.

"I would also like to say thank you to all the players, who will be friends for life."

Meanwhile Hearts confirmed that Sergio turned down fresh terms at Tynecastle.

"Paulo Sergio declined the offer of a new contract. We wanted to keep Paulo Sergio at Hearts and made what we believed was our best offer in the circumstances. The same terms will be available to other candidates willing to lead Hearts to new victories.

"We would like to put on record our appreciation of all his efforts, and those of Alberto Cabral and Sergio Cruz, in bringing the Scottish Cup back to Tynecastle."

It has also been confirmed that first-team coach Gary Locke has remained with the club.