Melbourne Heart have sacked coach John Aloisi after two years at the helm, following a winless start to the Hyundai A-League season.
The sacking comes off the back of Heart’s 1-0 loss to Wellington this weekend, which left the Melbourne club stranded on the bottom of the ladder, six points adrift of the next best side.
Heart chairman Peter Sidwell was full of praise for the former coach, and the way he conducted himself throughout the process.
“John was as always the gentleman that he always is and has been,” he said in his address to the media this morning.
“It’s a difficult decision to terminate what is one of our favourite sons but the board felt it was in the best interests of the club going forward.
“Ultimately, success on the park is the major measure of a club and its success and also very clearly, we are not having that on the park at the moment.”
Aloisi came to the Heart as a foundation player in their inaugural season back in 2010. With his retirement the year after, Aloisi took the reigns as Heart’s youth coach, before getting the top job in 2012.
Aloisi oversaw Heart’s ninth place finish in his first season in charge; with his sides poor away record the bane of their poor season.
A return of four points from 12 games was enough for the Melbourne board to finally run out of patience with Aloisi who was sacked on Saturday night.
The board did however shoulder some responsibility for the poor form under their former coach.
“Oh make no mistake we all bear responsibility from top to bottom, me included,” Sidwell said.
“I‘ve addressed the players earlier on today and I‘ve told them we’ve all got some blood on our hands regarding this.
“None of us can walking away without saying, did we absolutely give John Aloisi the best support that was required?”
Negotiations are ongoing with former coach John Van’t Schip to take the reigns for the remainder of the season.
Sidwell remains optimistic that the Dutchman, who preceded Aloisi as Heart coach, will be in charge for Heart’s clash with Central Coast Mariners on Sunday.
“We’ve had some discussions with John Van’t Schip, we’re yet to confirm his availability and the timing of that availability.”
The Chairman was quick however to dismiss talk of Van’t Schip taking over on a permanent basis, despite the admission that the board were unanimous in their decision to have Van’t Schip as first choice target.
“We are making no thought processes there [regarding Van ‘t Schip’s candidacy as a long term solution].
“At this point in time, we want to have a guy with great repute to come into the club. At this point in time, we think it will be John Van’t Schip.”
In other Heart news, following rumours that the owners had accepted a nine million dollar bid for the club, a statement was released, confirming that no sale has been made and that any discussions are ongoing. Sidwell this morning also reiterated that any decision made on the sale of the club would be in the best interest of the franchise long term.