Akropolis lost 3-0 away against Skövde AIK in the qualifiers for the Superettan in the first meeting between the teams on Thursday. On Friday morning, head coach Giannis Christopoulos was told that he had been fired before Sunday’s home game.
“I was not on the bench today (Sunday). I quit after the away match against Skövde. The chairman called me on Friday morning and told me that the board wants me to quit.” Christopoulos wrote in a text message to Fotbollskanalen on Sunday.
Assistant coach Louay Chanko instead led Akropolis at home against Skövde when the match ended 0-0 and the relegation from the Superettan became a fact. Next season, the Acropolis will play in one north.
Now Acropolis chairman Gojko Drinic explains the choice to fire Christopoulos in the middle of the qualifiers.
– We were down 3-0 and considered that we had a greater opportunity to get a positive result with a change in the coaching position. It was a match where we wanted to do something different. Gianni’s contract expires last December, so it’s no more dramatic than that, says Drinic to Fotbollskanalen.
Who will be your next coach?
– We will start that work on Monday evening. It is not said whether it will be Chanko or not. He is as current as everyone else.
Furthermore, Drinic, who has only been chairman for a few weeks, says the following that Akropolis is no longer an elite club:
– It is of course extremely boring – and much worse from an economic perspective. One is the worst series you can belong to with expensive away matches and scarce income. Of course it would have been more fun to play in the Superettan.
Now, most likely major changes in the player squad await.
– We will see who we want to keep, who we can afford and who wants to stay. I think we will start again on square one with all the players, draw a line and start again from the beginning. We have to cut costs so it’s screaming about it. Who wants to play for the salary we can offer in division 1? There are probably a few, says chairman Drinic.
Is there a clause in the players’ contracts that allows them to break their contracts after relegation?
– In most cases, yes.
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