BREAKING NEWS: Durakovic sacked, Muscat as Interim Coach.
Melbourne Victory have reportedly sacked coach Mehmet Durakovic after just six months in the job, and promoted Kevin Muscat as interim coach.
Victory have won just three games all season, losing five and drawing six, to leave them third from bottom on the Hyundai A-League ladder, and 15 points behind leaders Central Coast Mariners.
The Melbourne Herald Sun reports that Durakovic was told by the Victory board at 7am this morning, following a series of board meetings to decide the under-fire coach’s future.
Under pressure from the start, Durakovic never fully convinced the Victory board or fans that he was the right man to take over from Ernie Merrick, the man who guided Victory to two A-League championships.
Despite a number of highly publicised transfers in the off-season, including the arrival of marquee man Harry Kewell, Victory have been punished by inconsistency over the season. A run of three bad losses of the Christmas period sealed Durakovic’s fate, with the club desperate to salvage something from the season.
While the club boast an embarrassment of riches in attack, with Kewell, Archie Thompson, Carlos Hernandez, Danny Allsopp and Jean Carlos Solorzano, the midfield has often been overrun as Durakovic’s persistence with a narrow diamond formation leaving his side over-exposed on the flanks.
The promotion of Muscat comes as no surprise. The club legend has long been touted as the real successor to Merrick, with many suggesting his influence at the club was stronger than Durakovic's.
Former Perth Glory coach Ron Smith has been hired as a new assistant coach alongside Steve Mautone.
What do you think about Durakovic sacking? Have Melbourne Victory made the right decision and who should be the next coach?
