Inigo Calderon sacked by Bristol Rovers as head coach after their relegation to the fourth division League Two.
Inigo Calderon was fired as head coach of Bristol Rovers after the team was relegated from League One.
After two seasons in the third division, Rovers’ return to League Two was guaranteed by Burton’s draw with Wigan on Tuesday.
His last game as manager ended the season with a 4-1 loss against Blackpool on Saturday, the team’s ninth defeat in ten games.
Miguel Llera, the head coach of the first team, has also left The Memorial Stadium.
Rovers ended 22nd in the table and only won six of Calderon’s 26 games as manager, despite his appointment on Boxing Day.
The team was three points above the relegation zone and 19th in the table when the former Brighton & Hove Albion defender was signed to a two-and-a-half-year contract in December, but he was unable to lead them to victory.
Calderon, 43, had previously managed Brighton’s under-18 squad before taking on the Bristol Rovers position, which was his first management position in a first team.
Rovers moved nine points clear of the relegation zone in early March after winning back-to-back games against Huddersfield and Bolton. However, a disastrous run of eight losses in nine games sent them into the bottom four.
Matt Taylor, who had been employed for a year, was fired in early December and replaced by Calderon.
But under Calderon, Taylor’s team’s problems from the beginning of the season remained, especially with goal scoring and away performance.
The manager’s predicament was made worse by the loss of attackers Chris Martin and Promise Omochere to season-ending injuries in early March. Rovers’ goal total of 44 is the fourth-lowest in the division, with 25 goals scored during Calderon’s tenure.
With just three road victories, the team is likewise at the bottom of the table for away results. In 12 games, there was only one away victory under Calderon, and only four goals were scored.
“It’s been difficult. We knew it was my first chance in senior management and the fact I am not getting success has been frustrating for me,” Calderon said following their defeat by Reading.
“But at the same time I sleep well in terms of I think I am trying to do everything possible – you cannot imagine the hours I try to put in to make this team stay in this division. It still hasn’t been enough so maybe I have to do better, 100% I have to do better.”