DOWN.. AND BOSS IS OUT
Morais sacked after Tykes are relegated
BARNSLEY boss Jose Morais was sacked after they crashed out of the Championship.
The Portuguese and his backroom team all left within minutes, and Tykes chief executive Gauthier Ganaye said: “You can say he has been sacked. “It is a sad day because we have not been good enough as a club.
“The owners took this on as a long-term project. “We wanted to do it from the Championship but we will have to do it from League One.” Morais, who has worked with Jose Mourinho at Chelsea, Real Madrid, Inter Milan and Porto, only got the Barnsley job three months ago as Paul Heckingbottom’s successor.
But a run of three wins from 15 games has not been good enough and the Tykes triggered a relegation clause in Morais’ contract to get rid of him.
Former Barnsley defender Mick Mccarthy could now be the man that the Oakwell club turn to.
They are back in League One after two years in the Championship, while Derby are again bidding for Premier League promotion.
The Rams took Barnsley apart as sub Matej Vydra won the Championship’s Golden Boot with his 21st League goal of the season.
Manager Gary Rowett is now hoping that Derby have found the golden promotion ticket.
This is the Rams’ third time in the play-offs in five years.
They have found only tears and frustration so far and try again at home to Fulham on Friday night in the first leg of the semi-finals.
“With Derby County’s history it makes for a lot more external pressure,” said Rowett.
“Nerves have got the better of them in the past, but the players were relaxed today.” Striker Cameron Jerome, bought
for £1.5million in January to calm those nerves, scored one and made another as Derby, needing a point to make the play-offs, overwhelmed Barnsley.
Jerome scored a cracking 14th-minute goal made by the impressive Bradley Johnson.
And then Jerome’s pace undid Barnsley 10 minutes into the second half for Vydra to score easily.
Vydra’s 68th-minute cross was headed in by another sub, David Nugent, and it was the former England forward who set-up Tom Lawrence for the fourth in the 71st minute.
Bashed-up Barnsley got one back when sub George Moncur bent in a shot late on and Rowett, who has pulled Derby out of a plunge in form, added: “We’ve almost been given a second chance.
“If you had asked me about the play-offs eight or nine games ago I would have said that even if we get in there we wouldn’t have enough momentum or form to make a challenge.
“What I’d say now, after the last four tough games, is the players will be going into the play-offs full of determination.”