Vincent Tan, the Cardiff City owner, has claimed the decision to dispense with the services of Malky Mackay was down to the Scot airing the club’s “dirty linen” in public.
Yesterday, Mackay, 41, was relieved of his duties after two-and-a-half years in charge of the club.
Mackay’s exit had been widely predicted after Tan last week sent him an email demanding he resign or be sacked.
That ultimatum was briefly lifted when chairman Mehmet Dalman stated Mackay would be in charge for the “foreseeable future’’, but the 3-0 Boxing Day defeat against Southampton proved Mackay’s last in charge.
Mackay has said he has felt sorry for the club’s fans as Cardiff have found themselves in the headlines for the wrong reasons on several occasions. But Tan laid the blame for that firmly at his former manager’s door in a statement released to Sky Sports.
“There has been a good deal of publicity generated by, and about, Mr Malky Mackay for the last few months,” it read.
“Indeed, far too much dirty linen has been exposed to the public gaze but, I stress, not by me. I have deliberately not responded to this, hoping that the club can be judged on its football rather than personalised arguments about who said what to whom.
“I have, however, regretfully concluded that it is no longer fair to the club, its players, its fans and the public more generally for this uncomfortable state of affairs to continue.
“Cardiff City Football Club means far too much to us all for it to be distracted by this.’’
Even when Dalman offered Mackay the lifeline that he would remain in charge, it came with the caveat that there would need to be a reconciliation between owner and manager. Mackay had twice requested a meeting with Tan and Dalman, but the Scot revealed the Malaysian had turned them down.
Talks had been due to be held on Saturday, when Cardiff face Sunderland, but in the end Mackay did not last long enough. His assistant Kerslake and first-team coach Joe McBride will lead the team for that game.
Former Manchester United striker and Molde manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is among the favourites to replace Mackay, while Sven-Goran Eriksson and Turkish journeyman Yilmaz Vural have also been suggested as potential candidates.
Earlier on Friday, Vural’s agent had tweeted that “explosive’’ events lay ahead at Cardiff.
Muzzi Ozcan tweeted: “The story is coming to a End in Wales and a new story will be born ... The next 48 hours will be explosive !’’
