Bob Bradley out as Swansea manager after less than 3 months

Bob Bradley waited years for the chance to coach a team in one of Europe’s top soccer leagues.

When he finally got it, the job proved too big for him.

The 58-year-old American was fired as Swansea manager on Tuesday, just 85 days after taking over at the English Premier League struggler.

Bradley won two of his 11 matches in charge, with his fate sealed a day after a 4-1 loss at home to West Ham that left Swansea in the relegation zone. After taking training on Tuesday, Bradley later returned to the club’s training ground to be told he had been dismissed by Swansea’s American co-owners.

“I knew exactly what I was getting into when I came to Swansea,” Bradley said by text message, “and realized the hardest part was always going to be getting points in the short run.

“But I believe in myself and I believe in going for it.”

Swansea is next to last in the standings, only above Hull on goal difference after 18 games of the 38-game season. The Welsh club is four points from safety, having been one place out of the relegation zone when Bradley joined.

“With the club going through such a tough time,” Swansea chairman Huw Jenkins said in a statement, “we have to try and find the answers to get ourselves out of trouble.

“Personally, I have nothing but praise for Bob. He is a good man, a good person who gave everything to the job.”

Once regarded as a beacon of stability and an example of how a soccer club should be run, Swansea will begin the search for its fifth full-time manager in less than three years, desperate to keep its place in the richest soccer league of all. American businessmen Jason Levien and Steve Kaplan have run the south Wales club since July, when they bought a 68 percent controlling stake.