Sporting Gijon have sacked coach Manuel Preciado and are preparing to approach Michael Laudrup as a swift replacement, according to reports.
Coach shown the door following disappointing run of results
Sporting Gijon have sacked coach Manuel Preciado and are preparing to approach Michael Laudrup as a swift replacement, according to reports.
The Cantabrian club have taken drastic action after securing just 18 points from their opening 20 games.
That disappointing return sees them languishing in the Primera Liga drop zone, leaving the club with little choice but to make managerial alterations.
"Maybe it's the same thing, but I don't want to call it firing or sacking, I want to call it a change on the bench," Sporting president Manuel Vega Arango explained after taking the decision.
Preciado took over at Sporting in 2006 and led the side back into the Spanish top flight for the first time in ten years and was hailed as a hero by the fans.
No grudges
Despite his popularity, the 54-year-old trainer was viewed as being unable to turn the team around this term and was aware that he was working on borrowed time.
He has now been shown to the door, but insists that he bears no grudges.
"I am sorry if I did something wrong, but I will be a fan of this team for the rest of my life," Preciado said after being informed of his sacking.
Laudrup is in line to be offered the position as he has yet to return to coaching after leaving Real Mallorca in September, when his assistant Erik Larsen was fired by the club.
The Dane previously impressed during his year in charge of Getafe, when he led the club to the quarter finals of the UEFA Cup and the final of the Copa del Rey.
