Stoke City have sacked former Luton Town manager Nathan Jones after a ten-month spell where he won just five of his 35 Championship games.
The 46-year-old controversially left Kenilworth Road in January last year, with the club on the verge of a pivotal month in their League One promotion push and weeks before the historic Power Court stadium planning hearing.
Having previously enjoyed cult status with Hatters fans, that relationship was further damaged once he’d moved to Stoke, collecting the Manager of the Month Award, that he won with Luton, while wearing a Potters shirt.
But Town, managed but club legend Mick Harford, kicked on to go make history wit a 28-game unbeaten run, winning the title on the last day of the season.
This season, Stoke were eyeing promotion back to the Premier League but things no victories in their first ten games, left them rooted to the bottom of the Championship.
Defeat to fellow strugglers Huddersfield earlier this month, looked to be the end for Jones as his post-match reaction seemed to suggest he was on his way out of the Bet365 Stadium.
However, he kept his job and back-to-back victories earlier this month against high-flying Swansea and Fulham spared him the axe, but non-scoring defeats against Sheffield Wednesday and Millwall finally saw it swing today.
In a statement on Stoke’s official website, Jones said: “I would like to thank John and Peter Coates, firstly for the opportunity to manage this Football Club and then for the continued support and patience throughout my time here.
“I would also like to thank the supporters for their fantastic support. Finally, I wish the Club the very best for the future.”
Assistant manager Paul Hart and first team coach Joaquin Gomez, who left Luton with Jones, have also left Stoke.
