Bayer Leverkusen yesterday sacked coach Robin Dutt in the wake of his team’s 2-0 home defeat by Freiburg in the German league with ex-Liverpool defender Sami Hyypia stepping in as caretaker coach.
Dutt was summoned to a meeting with Leverkusen’s director of sport Rudi Voeller and chairman Wolfgang Holzhaeuser yesterday morning when he was formally dismissed.
For the rest of the season and the next six league games, Hyypia will coach the team alongside Bayer’s under-19 coach Sascha Lewandowski.
Allardyce demands six of the best
West Ham manager Sam Allardyce admitted his side would probably have to win all six remaining games to be certain of booking a place in the Premier League next season.
The Hammers were beaten 4-2 at home by Championship promotion rivals Reading, leaving Allardyce feeling that they have no other options open if they want to reel in the Royals, who are in second place.
“We shot ourselves in the foot,” the former Bolton boss said.
“There are no more opportunities for us to take a point any more. To keep up with Reading we have to win six on the trot.”
McCoist urges takeover caution
Rangers manager Ally McCoist says it is important that the right people take over the Glasgow giants after the club’s administrators set a new deadline for potential purchasers.
The Ibrox club entered administration in February due to a £9 million ($14.4m) tax bill and could face a further bill of up to £49m if the verdict of a tax tribunal goes against them.
“I’m the same as every Rangers fan. I want us bought over and I want us bought over now and I want us invested in,” the Rangers manager said.
“We all want that, of course we do. But the most important thing is that it’s done in the right way and the right people take over the club.”
April Fool joke
Corriere di Siena readers awoke to the surprising news yesterday morning that Siena coach Giuseppe Sannino had been sacked, only to find out it was just a hoax.
The local newspaper decided to play the trick in its Sunday edition with a fake front page on which the major news was the firing of Sannino.
The newspaper went as far as claiming that ex-captain Michele Mignani would take over the reins for yesterday’s clash with Udinese.
It was part of a series of April Fool jokes that included the declaration that Siena would be the ‘Capital of Culture’ in 2019.
Wenger fumes at lacklustre Arsenal
Arsene Wenger accused his Arsenal players of a lack of commitment during their lacklustre 2-1 defeat at struggling Queens Park Rangers.
Wenger’s side came into the game on the back of a run of seven successive Premier League victories and had a chance to consolidate their position in third place but they were outfought by Mark Hughes’s team.
“Of course, it was a shock for us and I felt sub-consciously something was missing,” Gunners boss Wenger said.
“And in the Premier League if you miss something on the commitment front then you are beaten and that was the result of the game.”
Roma not copying Barca – Enrique
Roma coach Luis Enrique has denied that he is trying to copy Barcelona with his side.
Enrique, who was a reserve team coach at Barca, has tried to encourage a passing and possession game with his players this season, prompting comparisons with the Catalan giants.
“I’m not trying to play like Guardiola or Barcelona. Repeating their style, with their players and their culture, would be impossible,” said the Spaniard.
“It can be similar and correct and we don’t launch long balls. But we can’t play in a way in which a player like (Lionel) Messi beats four or five players.”
Di Matteo salutes Chelsea spirit
Roberto Di Matteo has hailed the fighting spirit in the Chelsea squad as they stake a last-ditch claim to clinch a Champions League spot with a top-four finish in the Premier League.
The fifth-placed Blues won their sixth game out of eight since Di Matteo took charge thanks to a 4-2 win at Aston Villa on Saturday to keep the pressure on Arsenal and Tottenham above them.
Di Matteo said: “Apart from five minutes when Villa scored twice, we controlled the game very well, and had one or two chances to score more goals.
“It was great spirit by the team to react to that double setback because it could have gone the other way as well. We could have capitulated.”