5 Mar 2012

Chelsea sack their manager

6:43 pm on 5 March 2012

Chelsea have sacked their manager Andre Villas-Boas after less than nine months in charge at the English Premier League football club.

Speculation over the 34-year-old's future had been swirling in the British media for weeks after a series of poor results, and his dismissal follows yesterday's 1-0 loss to West Bromwich Albion.

Chelsea have won just three of their last 12 Premier League games, and they're in danger of missing out on qualifying for the Champions League for the first time since the Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich bought the club in 2003.

The former Chelsea midfielder Roberto Di Matteo has been appointed first-team coach on an interim basis until the end of the season.