Warren Joyce sacked as Wigan Athletic boss
Club issue statement saying Graham Barrow will take over for rest of the season
Warren Joyce has left Wigan Athletic after just over four months in charge.
The former United youth coach leaves with the club second from bottom in the Championship and four points from safety from the relegation zone.
Joyce is the third boss to lose his job in the second tier in four days - after Derby fired Steve McClaren, and Norwich parted ways with Alex Neil.
A statement on the club’s website said:
Wigan Athletic can confirm that the club has parted company with Manager Warren Joyce with immediate effect and that Assistant Manager Graham Barrow has been made Interim Manager for the remainder of the season.
Appointed in November 2016, Joyce managed the team for 22 league matches, winning five, drawing five and losing 12. At home, there has just been one victory and three draws from 11 league matches, scoring in just three of those games.
Following the weekend’s results, the team finds itself four points from safety with just nine games of the Sky Bet Championship season remaining.
Chairman David Sharpe said: “It is unfortunate that we have made this decision but with the team in such a perilous position in the league, we need to act now because we cannot afford to fall any further behind.
“Warren was appointed with the future in mind in terms of developing players but preserving our Championship status is the absolute priority and we have a duty to do whatever gives us the best chance of doing that.
“Results and performances have simply not been up to standard often enough in recent matches and although we acknowledge the difficulties faced in managing a team in a league where we are competing against clubs with much larger budgets, the nature of some of our recent defeats, especially against close rivals, has fallen short in terms of what we as a club, and all our supporters, expect.”
The club can confirm that Head of First Team Coaching Andy Welsh has also left with immediate effect.
The club would like to place on record its thanks to Warren and Andy and wish them well for the future.