The Melbourne Victory sacked coach Ernie Merrick on Saturday, ending a six-year tenure which saw the club twice win Australian football's A-League.
Merrick guided the Victory to A-League titles in 2007 and 2009 but was terminated with one year left on his current contract after the club's fifth-place finish in this year's league.
The 57-year-old was the last original coach remaining in the A-League, having held the job since the club and competition's formation in 2005.
His sacking follows the Victory's 5-1 loss to Japan's Gamba Osaka in the Asian Champions League earlier this month. Melbourne youth team coach Mehmet Durakovic will guide the team through the rest of its ACL schedule.
Merrick was dismissed after a meeting with Melbourne's new chairman Anthony De Pietro, who defended the decision to make the change in the midst of the Champions League campaign.
''Our club sets extremely high standards and we are disappointed with the results of the recent A-League season and also our start to the Champions League campaign,'' Di Pietro said.
''Our intent is to continue to be the benchmark club in the A-League. We wish to be successful in Asia and believe this decision will assist in taking us to that level.''
