ISL 2019-20: Hyderabad FC sack Phil Brown
ISL club Hyderabad FC have sacked their manager Phil Brown after a string of poor performances as the team sits at the bottom of the points table with one win from twelve matches.
"We at the club would like to sincerely thank Phil (Brown) for his efforts since joining Hyderabad FC. We have had some challenging times in the inaugural season and Phil led the team admirably. All of us at the club would like to wish Phil the very best in his future endeavours," said Varun Tripuraneni, co-owner of Hyderabad FC to the ISL Media.
Phil Brown was appointed the manager of now-defunct FC Pune City last season and took charge of the team for six games. When he took over the reins, the club had only 11 points from 12 games but they doubled their tally by the end of the league stages of the competition.
Brown later signed a two-year extension with FC Pune City before they decided to shift their base to Hyderabad with new owners.
Hyderabad FC picked up the only win in their first home match as Marko Stankovic's penalty and Marcelinho's free-kick proved to be enough against Kerala Blasters to register a 2-1 victory. But, they went on to lose all of their matches thereafter barring draws against Bengaluru FC and ATK in their home ground.
Hyderabad FC were crippled with injuries and suspensions right from the beginning. Phil Brown missed the services of his key foreigners like Bobo, Nestor Gordillo, Giles Barnes, and Rafa Lopez Gomez at crucial junctures and lack of the squad depth hurt his prospects further.
Hyderabad FC take on Odisha FC in their sixth home match of the season on Wednesday. With head coach Phil Brown out, assistant coaches Neil McDonald and Mehrajuddin Wadoo might take charge of the game at interim roles until they find a permanent replacement.