Espanyol sack coach Gonzalez after poor run

MADRID (Reuters) – Espanyol have sacked coach Sergio Gonzalez after Saturday’s 1-0 defeat at Celta Vigo left the Barcelona-based club hovering three points above the La Liga relegation places.

Gonzalez, 39, a former Espanyol and Deportivo La Coruna player, was in his second season in charge after he was promoted from B team manager and led the club to a 10th-place finish in Spain’s top flight in his debut campaign.

In a statement on their website (www.rcdespanyol.com) announcing Gonzalez’s dismissal, Espanyol did not immediately name a successor but local media reported that former Romania international Constantin Galca was in line to take over.

Galca, 43, played at Espanyol with Gonzalez, as well as for a number of other Spanish clubs, and led Steaua Bucharest to the Romanian league and cup titles last season.

Espanyol, who reached the UEFA Cup final in 2007, have been a near-constant presence in La Liga and they were last relegated to the second division (Liga Adelante) in 1992-93 before coming straight back up the following term.

Their next outing is a King’s Cup last-32, second leg at home to Levante on Tuesday. The La Liga rivals drew 1-1 in the first leg in Valencia.

(Reporting by Iain Rogers, editing by Clare Fallon)