Swansea, Stoke sack managers

TWO of the three clubs relegated from the Premier League showed managers the door yesterday but West Bromwich Albion bucked the trend by handing caretaker Darren Moore the job on a permanent basis.

Swansea City got the ball rolling with the departure of Portuguese Carlos Carvalhal, who had arrived last December on a contract that expired at the end of the campaign with an extension option.

Swansea chairman Huw Jenkins said the South Wales club, who finished third from bottom and will be trading places with promoted local rivals Cardiff City, had decided to “move in a new direction”.

Paul Lambert, appointed by Stoke City in January on a two- and- a- half- year contract after Mark Hughes was sacked, was also on the move.

The departures came with Arsenal, Everton and West Ham looking for new managers and more heads likely to roll.

Everton sacked former England boss Sam Allardyce on Wednesday, after six months in the job, and on the same day that West Ham dispensed with the service of David Moyes.

Moyes, like Carvalhal, was also brought in on a short term contract to steady the ship and had done what was asked of him.

Arsenal have yet to name a replacement for Arsene Wenger, with former Gunners captain Mikel Arteta emerging as a frontrunner.

Bottom side West Brom kept their faith in Moore, however, after their former defender took them on an unbeaten run in April as caretaker after replacing the sacked Alan Pardew.

“He (Moore) embodies the spirit of the club and the spirit of what we are striving to achieve in this new chapter ahead,” West Brom chief executive Mark Jenkins said.

There were also moves in the Championship, with former England manager Steve McClaren appointed by Queens Park Rangers on a two-year contract.

He replaces Ian Holloway, who was sacked by the club after finishing 16th in the second tier last season. – Reuters