Stoke have sacked Alex Neil with the club 20th in the Championship. The Potters were beaten 1-0 at home by fellow strugglers Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday, which was a fourth-straight defeat in a six-match winless run.
Neil was appointed at the end of August 2022 after leaving Sunderland, but the former Norwich and Preston manager was unable to mount a sustained promotion challenge, with Stoke finishing 16th last season.
Martin Canning has also left his position as assistant manager, with Paul Gallagher installed as caretaker manager for the home game against Swansea on Tuesday night. The head coach of the team’s under-21s, Alex Morris, and the former Potters defender Ryan Shawcross are also part of the interim backroom team.
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The Stoke chairman, John Coates, said on the club’s website: “Alex is a man of absolute integrity who has given his all for Stoke City and we would like to thank him for his hard work during his time with the club.
“We are grateful for the building blocks he has helped put in place in bringing together a group of players in whom we have a huge amount of faith regarding their ability to turn things around this season and who can help us achieve longer-term success.
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“However, with the way the results have been so far, we have made the difficult decision to seek a new direction for the team at this time. Nothing matters to me more than the success of our club and we are now working towards the appointment of Alex’s successor.”