Andy Murray confirmed last night that he has parted company with Brad Gilbert, his coach. The pair reached the decision, which was taken mutually, after it became obvious over the past couple of months that a clash of personalities was placing unhealthy strain on their relationship.

“Despite being injured for almost four months this year, I am pleased with my 2007 results and am very grateful for the help that the LTA have given me by providing Brad Gilbert as a coach,” Murray said in a statement. “But the time has come to move on to the next stage of my career. I am ranked 11 in the world and can now afford to pay my own way and so will hire a team of experts, each to fulfil a specified role in the development of my tennis and fitness.”

The Times broke the story of the pair’s parting yesterday and now the LTA must decide whether or not Gilbert, who was employed in July 2006 on a three-year deal worth about £700,000 a year, will remain as an employee of the governing body. Talks have been continuing over the past fortnight and are likely to reach a conclusion by the end of this week. Roger Draper, the chief executive of the LTA, said: “It is essential that Andy has a team around him that will allow him to fulfil his potential. We are currently reviewing the situation in relation to Brad and will look to make a decision in the near future.”

A payoff would have to be negotiated were Gilbert’s contract terminated before the three years were up, with the American having worked with Murray for 16 months. The LTA did not put a figure on it last night, but it is likely be in the region of £1 million.

The LTA is realistic about the likelihood of Gilbert being reluctant to continue his work with British players, largely because, with the exception of Alex Bogdanovic, they are all ranked outside the top 200 in the world. “He is not going to want to sit behind a desk and worry about court bookings,” an LTA source said.

Gilbert’s contract was unique in that it meant a national association spending a remarkable amount of money on the coach of an individual player, even though his remit was to “play a vital role in supporting wider LTA performance programmes”. Last night, the LTA could not pinpoint the number of hours that Gilbert had spent working for it that did not involve Murray, but it was many more than expected because of the wrist injury suffered by the Scot in May.

With Murray restricted to working in the gym for much of May, June and July, Gilbert spent his days on court with top national juniors at the National Tennis Centre in Roehampton, southwest London, where he lived during the summer. The American also welcomed David Rice, who has since had his funding withdrawn after inappropriate pictures of him were posted on a social networking website, and Lee Childs to his home in Florida.

Rumours of cracks in Murray’s relationship with Gilbert began to surface before the US Open in August, but the fissures became more obvious when the British No 1 invited Leon Smith – who coached him in his formative years and is at present head of boys’ under16 coaching at the LTA – to the Madrid Masters Series event last month. Jamie, his brother, Judy, his mother, and Carlos Mier, his best friend, were also in attendance, indicating that Murray wanted more people around him to help to defuse the tensions that were mounting.

Gilbert is an all-consuming man and is thought to have reacted negatively to the presence of more people than he deemed necessary surrounding the player he refers to as “junior”. Gilbert likes to work one-on-one with his charges, as he did with Andre Agas-si and Andy Roddick, and took exception to his influence being reduced.

Initially, Murray was happy for Gilbert to decide who he should hit with, when he should eat, what he should eat, what his tactics should be, but now, as a 20-year-old, the Scot is keen to take control. Nor does he want to have to rely on the LTA’s involvement in any deal.

Murray did not part with a penny in his 18-month spell with Gilbert, during which he rose from No 36 to No 11, but he has taken the decision to surround himself with his own team, at his own expense. It is believed that the British No 1 will not appoint a full-time coach, rather that he will work with different people at different times of the year, tapping into various pools of expertise. The world remains his oyster.