Steve McClaren has been sacked as manager of English Premier
League strugglers Newcastle United with “immediate effect”, the north-east club
announced Friday.
Newcastle are second-bottom in the table and facing relegation
despite spending some £29 million ($41 million, 37 million euros) on new
players during the January transfer window in a bid to avoid the drop.
Former England manager McClaren’s position at St James’ Park had
been the subject of intense speculation for several days following Newcastle’s
3-1 loss at home to Bournemouth on Saturday.
The club apologised to McClaren for the ensuing uncertainty over
his position after the Bournemouth reverse but they said now was the time to
end his nine months in charge, with Newcastle having won just six of their 28
league games so far this season and only Aston Villa below them in the table.
Former Liverpool and Real Madrid boss Rafael Benitez has been
touted as a possible successor to McClaren, but Newcastle’s statement said: “A
further announcement on a successor to Steve will be made in due course.”
Reports in the British media suggested Newcastle managing director
Lee Charnley was due to hold talks with Spaniard Benitez later on Friday.
Whoever takes over will have just 10 games left to keep Newcastle
in the Premier League this season, starting with a daunting trip away to
leaders Leicester City on Monday after McClaren took three training sessions
this week, with his last on Thursday.
Kinnear, Alan Shearer, Chris Hughton, Alan Pardew, John Carver and
McClaren all coming and going.
For all their passionate support and status as a ‘big club’ in one
of English football’s traditional ‘hotbeds’, Newcastle have not won a major
trophy since lifting the European Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, a forerunner of the
current Europa League, back in 1969.
Their first home game following McCLaren’s departure will be
against local rivals Sunderland on March 20, arguably one of the most
significant Tyne-Wear derbies in years given the Black Cats are also threatened
by the prospect of relegation.
