Winless Suwon Samsung Bluewings fire manager Lee Byung-keun

Football

Published: 18 Apr. 2023, 10:23 Updated: 18 Apr. 2023, 17:21

Winless Suwon Samsung Bluewings fire manager Lee Byung-keun

Former Suwon Samsung Bluewings manager Lee Byung-keun watches the second leg of the 2022 K League playoffs between the Bluewings and FC Anyang at Suwon World Cup Stadium in Suwon, Gyeonggi on Oct. 29, 2022. [YONHAP]

The Suwon Samsung Bluewings sacked manager Lee Byung-keun on Monday as the team have yet to manage a win in seven K League games.

The Bluewings, who finished 10th on the 12-team table last season, rank in last place with zero wins, two draws and five losses this season as of Tuesday.

The club announced Monday that they have fired Lee and will appoint a new manager after internal discussions.

Lee's removal came after 364 days on the job. He took charge of the Bluewings on April 18, 2022 when the team were in 11th place. Lee's first year at Suwon was tough, as he failed to significantly improve his side's chances over the remaining season.

The Bluewings ended up in the relegation playoffs after the regular season for the first time in the club’s history.

Although they managed to remain in the K League 1 after a 2-1 victory over FC Anyang of the second division, there is clearly still something very wrong with the Suwon club this year.

The Bluewings’ attacks have been noticeably dull in the absence of Oh Hyeon-gyu — a key striker who left the club ahead of the 2023 season to join Celtic.

Oh was the team’s top scorer last season with 13 goals in the league alone and none of the Bluewings have been able to fill that void, with only seven goals scored so far in seven league games.

An interim manager will lead the Bluewings before a new manager is appointed, although even the identity of the interim manager had not been announced as of press time Tuesday.

The interim manager’s first game with the club will be a clash with old rivals FC Seoul at Seoul World Cup Stadium on Saturday.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]