Francesco Guidolin out, Bob Bradley in at Swansea

By Stephen Turner

Monday 3 October 2016 20:47, UK

Swansea have sacked Francesco Guidolin and will appoint American Bob Bradley as their new manager.

Guidolin leaves the Liberty Stadium on his 61st birthday after less than nine months in the role and is the first Premier League boss to lose his job this season.

And former United States national team manager Bradley will come in from French club Le Havre with Swansea 17th in the table, without a win since victory at Burnley on the opening day.

The 58-year-old, who will take charge of one final Le Havre game against Sochaux on Monday evening, will be the first American to manage in the Premier League.

City chairman Huw Jenkins said: "We are delighted Bob has agreed to join us. He is highly regarded as a coach and has a wealth of experience on the international and domestic front.

"He is well aware of the club's footballing philosophy and will provide us with strong leadership qualities and a renewed belief to compete at this level.

"It is never easy changing managers, but we are looking at a long-term appointment and we are confident Bob can settle us down and stabilise matters on and off the pitch."

Guidolin kept Swansea in the Premier League after replacing Garry Monk last season, overseeing a run of six wins and two draws from their final 11 games.

Jenkins said: "We are obviously disappointed to part company with Francesco. We felt he deserved his opportunity after the work he did last season.

"Unfortunately we have not been able to carry performances over from last season and we felt we needed to change things as soon as possible in order to move forward in a positive way.

"We would like to thank Francesco and his staff for their services to the club and wish them well for the future."

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