Inside Elland Road: Can Leeds Utd fans hold their nerve?
The Leeds United player has overseen a terrible start to the Championship season.
Former Leeds United defender Alan Sheehan has been sacked by Swansea City.
Sheehan has overseen Swansea’s worst start to a Championship campaign since they were relegated from the Premier League in 2018. The Welsh side have won just four of their opening 15 matches and on Saturday lost 4-1 at home to an Ipswich Town side who have not been firing on all cylinders.
Swansea currently sit 18th in the Championship on 17 points and were booed off the pitch at half-time and full-time on Saturday. They are seven points clear of Sheffield United who occupy the third and final relegation place, with Blackburn Rovers, Portsmouth and Oxford United are between them and the Blades.
Multiple outlets including The Athletic reported on Tuesday that Sheehan had been sacked, with the former Leeds defender relieved of his duties just six months after taking the job permanently and signing a three-year contract. The 39-year-old impressed after succeeding Luke Williams on an interim basis in February.
Swansea City statement after sacking Alan Sheehan
A statement from Swansea then confirmed the news. It said: "Swansea can confirm the club has parted ways with head coach Alan Sheehan," the club said. The 39-year-old was appointed as full-time head coach in April following two highly-impressive stints in interim charge of the Swans.
"Alan initially took over in December 2023, overseeing seven games with a win percentage of 42.86 per cent. His second spell in charge saw him record a win percentage of 58.3 per cent from 13 games, including a run of five wins in a row.
"However, in the wake of a disappointing run, it is felt results and performances do not meet the standards expected at this stage of the season, and we have had to take this difficult decision. The process to appoint a new head coach is already under way. We will update supporters on this process once it has been concluded."
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Sheehan took a point from Elland Road as interim Swansea boss in March last year after a dramatic 2-2 draw against his former club. Leeds went ahead twice through Brenden Aaronson and Willy Gnonto - the latter scoring in the 86th minute - before a massive Illan Meslier mistake allowed Zan Vipotnik to steal a point for the Swans six minutes into stoppage time..
Swansea was Sheehan’s first managerial job since retiring from playing in 2022. The Republic of Ireland Under-21 international spent almost two decades on the pitch playing throughout the English Football League. In January 2008, he joined Leeds on loan from Leicester City and made that move permanent the following summer.
Sheehan spent two years as a Leeds player but only played 14 more times across all competitions, with most of that period spent out on loan at Crewe Alexandra, Oldham Athletic or Swindon Town who he later joined permanently. The experienced defender also turned out for the likes of Luton Town, Bradford City and Notts County in a career that spanned more than 450 senior appearances.
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