Sevilla have sacked manager Manolo Jimenez after their
winless run stretched to seven games with a 1-1 home draw to bottom
placed Xerez in La Liga on Tuesday night.
Manolo Jimenez will be praying for a new job after
being sacked by Sevilla
Sevilla sporting director Ramon Rodriguez 'Monchi' described the
decision to sack Jimenez as a "painful'' one but is hoping the move
will galvanise the team ahead of the season run-in.
Jimenez's tenure in the hotseat came to an end after Sevilla's
Andalusian rivals Xerez scored a 92-minute equaliser at the Ramon
Sanchez Pizjuan. Sevilla will fall four points adrift of
fourth-placed Real Mallorca and the Champions League places if the
Balearic Island club beat Racing Santander on Wednesday.
According to a statement on the Sevilla website, Nacho Oria and
Ramon Orellana - both members of Jimenez's coaching staff - will
take charge of training on Wednesday pending a decision by the
board on who the future coach will be. Reports in the Spanish media
suggest the club have been in contact with Spain's Euro
2008-winning coach Luis Aragones, with Michael Laudrup being their
second choice. However, Monchi said: "We can't talk of replacements
when we haven't spoken with anybody yet.''