Sean Dyche has been sacked as Everton manager by the club’s new owners just three hours before their FA Cup third-round match.
Everton are winless in their last five Premier League games and currently sit 16th in the table, just one point off the bottom three.
The club have won just three times in the league this season and lost their most recent match 1-0 to Bournemouth having failed to register a shot on target.
Dyche’s departure also comes just a month since The Friedkin Group completed their takeover of the Merseyside club from former owner Farhard Moshiri.
The Toffees are in action tonight in the FA Cup against Peterborough United, with Under-18s Head Coach Leighton Baines and Club Captain Seamus Coleman set to take charge for the match.
A statement from the club read: ‘Everton Football Club can confirm that Sean Dyche has been relieved of his duties as Senior Men’s First Team Manager with immediate effect.
‘Ian Woan, Steve Stone, Mark Howard and Billy Mercer have also left the Club.
‘The process to appoint a new Manager is underway and an update will be provided in due course.
‘Under-18s Head Coach Leighton Baines and Club Captain Seamus Coleman will take charge of first-team affairs on an interim basis.’
Dyche arrived at the club just under two years ago in January 2023 to replace Frank Lampard and helped the club avoid relegation on the final day of the season with a 1-0 win against Bournemouth.
Last season, the former Burnley manager helped keep the club in the top flight again, recording an impressive 15th-place finish despite the club twice being deducted points for breaching the league’s profitability and sustainability rules (PSR).
However, results and performances have not improved this campaign, with the new owners opting for a shake-up during the January transfer window.
Jose Mourinho, who was previously employed by The Friedkin Group at Roma, had been linked with the role but reports now suggest that the current Fenerbahce will remain with the Turkish side.
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news onFacebook, Twitter and Instagram.