Scott Parker has been sacked as manager of Club Brugge after only 12 games, following Tuesday night’s 5-1 thrashing at Benfica.
Parker won just twice in his brief time in charge of the Belgian champions, a run that has seen them drop 19 points off league leaders Genk.
The final straw proved to be Tuesday’s Champions League last-16 defeat in Lisbon, which saw them knocked out of the competition 7-1 on aggregate.
Parker told reporters after the game: “For me it’s been challenging, but the players have been brilliant and wanting to do everything they can to turn this around.
“I understand people now doubt (me), I’m not naive enough to not (think that). All I can say is that I’m trying to turn this around and create a team that will start winning again.”
Asked if he would stay in charge following the loss, Parker said: “You are asking the wrong person.”
Parker’s position had already come under severe strain following Friday’s 3-0 reverse to relegation-threatened side Oostende, a low point in Club Brugge’s season barely half a year since they lifted the Belgian Pro League trophy.
National newspaper HLN ran a story calling for his removal after that defeat, saying “he is not the right man in the right place”.
Brugge had actually enjoyed a rare win over one of their top-four championship play-off rivals Gent in their previous game, but that would prove one of few high points in his tenure.
Parker drew five of his 10 league matches at the club, winning two and losing the other three, and left them only a point ahead of the chasing pack for the final spot in that end-of-season play-off.
His removal marks his second sacking this season, having already been dismissed by Bournemouth four games into the Premier League season on the back of a 9-0 thrashing at Liverpool.
