Deportivo Alaves have come to an agreement with manager Jose Luis Mendilibar to terminate his contract with the team, as per the club’s official website.
Having sacked previous manager Javi Calleja in December to bring Mendilibar in, they have now dismissed of his services just 12 games later.
Mendilibar took over from Calleja just after Alaves had slid into the relegation zone but was unable to get the club back out of it. In those twelve matches, El Glorioso won just once, securing four draws and losing the other seven.
In the official club statement, they made reference of his performance as the decisive factor for the move.
“Despite the effort of the manager and the squad, the result [of his appointment] has not been the one hoped for and in the twelve matches that the Basque manager has been in charge of Deportivo Alaves, he has only achieved one victory and the team finds itself now six points from safety.”
ℹ️ José Luis Mendilibar deja de ser entrenador del Deportivo Alavés.
Gracias por tu trabajo, Mendi, y mucha suerte en el futuro.#GoazenGlorioso 🦊
— Deportivo Alavés (@Alaves) April 4, 2022
“The duty of Deportivo Alaves is to do everything possible in order achieve the objective of survival and, for that reason, takes this always difficult decision with the conviction that salvation is possible.”
“The club appreciates the effort and dedication of Jose Luis Mendilibar.”
Alaves slipped to the bottom of the table for the first time this season following Levante’s victory and their defeat to Atletico Madrid over the weekend.
The Basques have a tricky job to stay up in the final eight games, but do play all three of the sides above them before the end of the season. As reported by Gol Digital, former managers Asier Garitano and Abelardo are early favourites for the job – neither is currently in work.
