Poyet out, Sanchez in as coach at Betis

Spanish football club Real Betis have sacked coach Gustavo Poyet after just 11 games in charge and announced Victor Sanchez as his replacement.

The announcement, which was made shortly before midnight on Friday, ended days of speculation over Poyet's future and also over who would be his replacement, reports Xinhua.

A 0-2 defeat to Villarreal on November 6 looked to have sealed Poyet's fate, but the Uruguayan took training sessions early in the week while the club looked for a replacement and it was not until Friday that his departure was finally confirmed.

Former Zaragoza player, Poyet, who had also played in England and coached English sides Brighton and Sunderland, was named Betis coach at the start of the summer. Despite a full pre-season with his players, he has never really been able to convince fans.

The season kicked off with a 2-6 defeat away to Barcelona and although Betis were able to win in Valencia in the third round of matches, they have only won on two other occasions, while also losing 1-6 at home to Real Madrid in what was the worst home defeat in the club's history.

He is the fourth coach to be sacked in Spain this season and the second to lose his job in a week following Quique Martin's sacking by Osasuna on Monday.

Sanchez joins Betis after a season and a half coaching Deportivo la Coruna, who he left at the end of last season. The 40-year-old then joined Greek side Olympiakos, but was sacked in the summer after just two games in charge.

"I am coming to Betis with all of the hopes of helping some of the best supporters in the world enjoy their football. We will do that through teamwork and hard work," said Victor in declarations on the club website.

--IANS

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