Ince sacked by Blackpool

Paul Ince has been sacked as manager of Blackpool.

The former England international had his contract terminated after a disastrous run of results which saw them lose nine of their last ten games.

He had a meeting with owner Karl Oyston on Sunday night and had hoped he had earned a stay of execution. But he was told he was sacked on Tuesday afternoon in the wake of  Saturday’s 2-0 defeat to Barnsley. There have been suggestions the sacking took place in a text message, although that has yet to be confirmed.

A statement said: “Blackpool Football Club can confirm that manager Paul Ince and assistants Alex Rae and Steve Thompson have had their contracts terminated with immediate effect.

“Barry Ferguson will take charge of training when the players return on Thursday.

“A further announcement will be made in due course.”

Ferguson has already been tipped to be given the job on a full-time basis as the club try to put an end to their current poor form. They are currently 14th in the championship after topping the table briefly after winning five of their opening six games. But a series of injuries hampered their campaign resulting in Ince’s dismissal.

The 46-year-old was appointed less than a year ago when Michael Appleton left to manage briefly at Blackburn – one of the club Ince was also in charge of.

Ince’s managerial career has never matched his playing career. He won almost every major honour during his spells at top clubs like Manchester United, Inter Milan and Liverpool after beginning his career at West Ham. He won 53 caps for England.

He previously managed Macclesfield Town, MK Dons, and Notts County as well as Blackburn.

He achieved success at Stadium MK where he won the League Two title and Football League Trophy before being given a chance in the Premier League at Ewood Park.

But Ince lost the job after Rovers won only six out of 21 games in all competitions and, more recently, he found himself out of work again when he left Notts County in April 2011.

He spent time watching Blackpool as a fan because his son Tom plays for the club, and was eventually given a one-year rolling contract and the task of keeping the club in the Championship.

He met that target as they finished last season in 15th place, five points above the relegation zone.

But a poor run of recent form, which brought just two points from their last 12 games and an FA Cup third-round defeat at Bolton, prompted chairman Oyston to take action today.