Blackpool have announced the departure of head coach Jose Riga, with Lee Clark being heavily tipped to become the next incumbent at Bloomfield Road.
Riga was only appointed as the boss of the struggling Championship side back in June, at a time when he only had six first-team players to work with. Despite being able to assemble a squad, a run of just one win and 11 defeats in 15 matches in all competitions has now resulted in him losing his job, with the board insisting they simply couldn’t delay the decision any longer.
“We couldn’t leave the decision any longer to give someone else the opportunity to help us work our way out of the position we are currently in,” said chairman Karl Oyston, who has placed Noel Blake in caretaker charge, told the official club site on Monday afternoon.
It has been widely suggested that Clark is being lined up to replace Riga. The former England Under-21 international emerged as a coach of some potential when he took the reins at Huddersfield Town in December 2008, and led them on a remarkable 43-match unbeaten run whilst in charge. He was controversially sacked in February 2012, and linked up with Birmingham City four months later.
After finishing 12th in his debut campaign at St Andrews, the Blues only avoided relegation to the third-tier of English football last term when they scored a stoppage-time equaliser against Bolton Wanderers on the final day. This season started dismally for the Midlands giants and, after winning just one of their opening 12 matches, the 42-year-old was dismissed last week.
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