Swansea City have confirmed they have sacked manager Michael Laudrup, following a run of results which leaves them in a relegation scrap.
A 2-0 defeat at West Ham United on Saturday was their sixth Premier League loss in their last eight matches, and this has left them just two points above the drop zone. This led to speculation over the future of Laudrup, yet on Monday Huw Jenkins, the chairman of the Liberty Stadium club, dismissed suggestions this was up for discussion.
However, the two met on Tuesday in an attempt to agree a way forward, and it has now emerged that the Danish coach has been sacked, and club captain Gary Monk will be in charge for the derby clash with Cardiff City at the weekend. Jenkins has revealed this was a hard decision to make, but one he feels was necessary for the club.
“It is a decision we have taken reluctantly,” he said. “But it’s a decision made in the best interests of Swansea City Football Club and our supporters. I had a meeting with Michael today in a final attempt to support him and establish a way to improve the work of the backroom team to secure the results we need over the final 14 Premier League games.
“However, after thinking long and hard about the best way forward, I felt it was unlikely we would achieve a stable environment at the club to allow us to get back to basics and produce the performance levels that have served Swansea City so well. Now we need to put that uncertainty behind us and move forward as a united football club on all fronts.”
Laudrup was a popular appointment when he was installed as Brendan Rodgers’ successor in the summer of 2012, after the latter made the move to Liverpool. And in his first season in charge, the 49-year-old led them to a respectable 9th place finish in the Premier League, whilst he also led them to their first piece of major silverware in the League Cup.
Indeed, a little over a week after this 5-0 success against Bradford City at Wembley, Laudrup signed a contract which was designed to keep him at the club until 2015. At the time he was even being named as a potential successor to Rafael Benitez at Chelsea, such was the reputation he was building as one of the brightest young coaches in the game.
