Steve McClaren was sacked as Newcastle United manager on Friday with the club facing relegation from the Premier League 10 matches from the end of the season.
McClaren's
position has been under threat for weeks and speculation intensified
after fans turned on him during the 3-1 home defeat by Bournemouth on
Saturday.
"After the defeat to Bournemouth the
Club has spent some time considering its position and today concluded
that Steve McClaren's employment with the Club will end with immediate
effect," Newcastle said in a statement.
McClaren,
54, a former England manager, signed a three-year deal to become
Newcastle boss in June and was also appointed to the club's board of
directors.
But Newcastle have never recovered from
a poor start to the season in which they failed to win any of their
opening eight league matches.
They are 19th in the 20-team standings and facing a return to the second tier for the first time since 2010.
"We
acknowledge that reaching this decision has taken a number of days and
that this has caused uncertainty for everyone involved, in particular
for Steve and the players, for which we apologise," Newcastle said.
"However,
we felt that this time was necessary to ensure the right decisions were
reached with the best interests of the Club at heart."
Newcastle managing director Lee Charnley thanked McClaren for his contribution.
"He is a man of integrity and class and he has conducted himself with great dignity during this difficult time," he said.
"Steve
worked tirelessly to try and bring success to Newcastle United. He has
the utmost respect of all the players, staff and management and he
leaves with our very best wishes and sincere thanks.
"We feel that a change is now needed in order to give the Club the best possible chance of securing its Premier League future."
Former
Real Madrid and Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez has been lined up as
McClaren's replacement in time for Monday's match against league leaders
Leicester City, British and Spanish media reported.
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