Gaizka Garitano won’t remain as Eibar Coach despite the club avoiding relegation after Elche were sent down for non-payment of tax.
Los Armeros were condemned on the final day of the season and Garitano announced his resignation almost immediately, with Marca noting his contract would have been renewed if Eibar stayed up.
The Basque club were granted a reprieve when a judge relegated Elche but Eibar’s President, Alex Aranzabal, has since confirmed Garitano won’t be returning.
“I refer you to Garitano’s words. He spoke of the end of a cycle and we understand we have completed that cycle,” Aranzabal said.
“The position of the club is that a cycle has finished and the best thing to do is to begin a new project and start from scratch.
“The contribution of Garitano in the last three seasons has been extraordinary. We’ve had the best cycle in the club’s history. But in football, the past doesn’t necessarily affect your future.
“The decision taken is what’s best for Eibar. We have to analyse what happened at the end of the season. We had a second round with 15 defeats and two wins, one of them in the last game against Cordoba.
“What we want is a hungry Coach, who knows this place or can rapidly be integrated into our values. We want a competitive team that learns from its mistakes.
“It was normal in our first season in the Primera to make mistakes. We have to remember we have a second chance and we have to do it right.
“We didn’t lose confidence in Garitano. The cycle is over and we have to think about what’s best for Eibar. We have a new opportunity in the Primera.
“There were two very different parts to 2014-15. The first lap was great but in the second we lost 15 games out of 19, and only won against Malaga and Cordoba.”
