Roberto Di Matteo set to be sacked by Aston Villa this weekend- after just 122 days as manager John Percy
2 OCTOBER 2016 • 10:12AM
Roberto Di Matteo is set to be sacked by Aston Villa after just 122 days as manager. Di Matteo's brief reign at Villa will be confirmed as over in the next 48 hours after chairman Tony Xia reluctantly decided to bring down the axe. Villa's 2-0 defeat at Preston yesterday has seen Di Matteo pay the ultimate price and the former Chelsea manager's tenure is coming to an end after just 122 days.Despite spending over £50 million this summer, Di Matteo has only secured one win from 11 Championship games and faced chants for his dismissal from many of the 5,400 travelling fans who travelled to Deepdale. This week was always going to prove crucial for the Villa manager, with two away games at Barnsley and Preston, and his failure to register a win will see him dismissed. Villa will now search for a replacement during the international break, with Steve Bruce, Mick McCarthy and Huddersfield manager David Wagner likely to be leading contenders.
Di Matteo was headhunted by Xia shortly after the £65 million takeover was completed in June, due to his record of winning the Champions League and achieving promotion from the Championship.
Significant funds were made available, with over £20 million spent on strikers Jonathan Kodjia and Ross McCormack, while other big signings such as Mile Jedinak, James Chester and Tommy Elphick were brought in.
Di Matteo had always insisted it would take time to mould a promotion winning team, after last season's nightmare campaign in which Villa finished bottom of the Premier League.
But the 3-0 win over Rotherham is Villa's only victory in the Championship this season and Xia is now already looking for his second manager.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2016/10/02/roberto-di-matteo-set-to-be-sacked-by-aston-villa-this-weekend/ [ 此帖被羅力亞在2016-10-03 16:27重新編輯 ]
