Paolo Di Canio was sacked after some senior Sunderland players complained to the club about him, according to reports.
The Italian lost his job on Sunday night just five games into the Premier League season - and hours after he held a training-ground inquest into Saturday's 3-0 defeat at West Brom.
In the fallout from that meeting, some of the club's senior men went above Di Canio's head to express their concerns about his management style.
And the board of directors - already considering the manager's position after he strode onto the pitch at West Brom to face down the travelling supporters - then acted to terminate his contract.
In his six months on Wearside Di Canio increased the workload in training and was at times publicly critical of his players but - this season, at least - his methods have not paid off.
Sunderland have taken just one point from their five league games to date, and academy coach Kevin Ball will be in charge for their next two fixtures - Tuesday's Capital One Cup tie against Peterborough and Sunday's home game against Liverpool.
