Leonids Beresnevs (centre) has resigned as the head coach of the Latvian national men’s ice hockey team ©Getty Images

Leonids Beresnevs has resigned as the head coach of the Latvian national men’s ice hockey team, just days before the final qualification tournament for the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics.

Beresnevs, who was only appointed by Latvia in February, has left his position due to "personal reasons".

It was his third spell in the job after he previously took charge from 1995 to 1999 and between 2005 and 2006.

At the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, he guided the country to a 12th place finish.

Despite being born in Russia, Beresnevs moved to Latvia's capital Riga at the age of 20 and spent a large portion of his career playing there.

He played for Dinamo Riga for 10 seasons in the Soviet League and then continued playing for Riga in the Latvian league after that.

The Latvian national men’s ice hockey team is set to compete in the final qualification tournament for the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics later this week ©Getty Images
The Latvian national men’s ice hockey team is set to compete in the final qualification tournament for the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics later this week ©Getty Images

Experienced Latvian ice hockey coach Haralds Vasiljevs will now step in as the head coach for the Olympic qualification tournament.

Vasiljevs previously served as head coach from 1999 to 2001, where he led the national team to eighth place at the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Championship in St Petersburg, Russia, in 2000.

Group E of the final qualification tournament for Pyeongchang 2018 will be hosted by Latvia in Riga between September 1 and 4.

The Latvian team will compete alongside Germany, Austria and Japan with the winner progressing to the 2018 Winter Olympics.

Two other groups will also take place in Belarus and Norway with the winners again booking their spot at the Games in South Korea.