Laudrup sacked by Swansea as board seek stable future
SWANSEA chairman Huw Jenkins sacked manager Michael Laudrup due to doubts over his long-term commitment, the club revealed last night.
The 49-year-old helped Swansea win the first trophy in their history when they lifted the Capital One Cup last season, but has since overseen just eight wins from 35 Premier League games.
Laudrup was openly critical of the club’s transfer policy last summer after an initial failure to attract their top targets, though striker Wilfried Bony was signed from Vitesse Arnhem in a £12m club-record deal.
Doubts over the Dane’s future at the Liberty Stadium reemerged recently with the club just two points clear of the relegation zone and on a run of one win in 10 league games.
And, following a meeting with Laudrup yesterday, Jenkins opted to wield the axe and install 34-year-old defender Garry Monk as head coach “for the foreseeable future”.
Jenkins said: “It is a decision we have taken reluctantly. But we had to remove the constant uncertainty surrounding the club and Michael’s long-term future with us.
“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 over the last few years.”
Monk has spent 10 years at Swansea and played for the club in all of English football’s top four tiers.
He takes charge of his first match at home to fierce rivals Cardiff on Saturday with current first team coach Alan Curtis as his assistant.
The Swans also play Everton in the FA Cup fifth round this month and resume their Europa League campaign against Italian giants Napoli.