Swansea City manager Alan Sheehan has today been sacked, the club have confirmed.
The Irishman has presided over the South Wales club’s worst start to a campaign since they were relegated from the Premier League in 2018.
They sit 18th in the Championship after winning just one of their last seven league games.
Their latest woe came on Saturday at home to seventh-placed Ipswich Town in a 4-1 defeat which saw Swans defender Callum Burgess put two in his own net.
Chants of ‘we want Sheehan out’ rang around the Liberty Stadium before Swansea and their manager were booed off after the final whistle.
And it seems the board have listened to the cries of the club’s fans, with Sheehan today dismissed less than a year after taking the job on a full-time basis.
Swansea City have sacked manager Alan Sheehan after a disappointing start to the season
The South Wales club sit 18th in the Championship having won just four of their first 15 games
A statement released by the club read: ‘Swansea City can confirm the club has parted ways with head coach Alan Sheehan.
‘However, in the wake of a disappointing run, it is felt results and performances do not meet the standards expected at this stage of the season, and we have had to take this difficult decision. The process to appoint a new head coach is already under way. We will update supporters on this process once it has been concluded.’
The 39-year-old becomes the fifth Championship manager to be dismissed this season after Ruben Selles, Paulo Pezzolano, Will Still and Liam Manning were all given their marching orders.
After his final game in charge of the club on Saturday, Sheehan admitted his side’s performance was ‘incredibly disappointing’.
He said: ‘We were far below part in the first half. We turned the ball over way too much and you cannot do that against a team like this.
‘We made a couple of changes at half-time and tried to be more aggressive in the right areas and we got a really well-worked goal.
‘But then we turned the ball over again, we hit the post, but you cannot play like we did – especially in the first half today- and expect to get anything out of it.
‘I understand the frustration everyone including the fans is feeling and we all watch the same game so I do understand it. We feel the same.
Former Middlesbrough manager Michael Carrick is an early favourite for the job
Gary O’Neill, who is thought to have turned down a return to Wolves last week, is another contender
‘I have had tough times in my career. I have been in the game a long time and I understand what we are trying to build but we also know the results are not what we want.’
Sheehan first joined the Swans as an assistant to Michael Duff in the summer of 2023. However upon Duff’s sacking, the Irishman was put in interim charge.
Swansea later appointed Luke Williams as their permanent manager – but he was also sacked less than a year later.
Sheehan was once again handed the interim manager’s role and, after picking 24 points in 13 games, was eventually handed the job on a full-time basis with a three-year contract.
The club backed him in the transfer market last summer, bringing former Norwich striker Adam Idah, Man United youth prospect Ethan Galbraith and Marko Stamenic amongst others to the club.
But just a few months later and Sheehan’s reign in South Wales is now over. His side’s xG of just 12.48 goals in 15 Championship matches is the worst of any side in the Championship.
Swansea’s attention has now turned to appointing his successor, with former Man United midfielder Michael Carrick the bookies’ early favourite for the role.
Carrick was sacked as Middlesbrough manager in the summer after failing to secure a top-six finish for a second consecutive season.
Gary O’Neil, Brendan Rodgers and former Sweden manager Kim Hellberg are also early contenders.
