Greg Morley reports on the managerial change at the Valley…
Charlton Athletic have terminated the contract of first-team coach Bob Peeters with immediate effect.
The sacking comes after the club went nine matches without a win in all competitions, which has seen them slip to 14th in the Championship table after initially occupying the last play-off spot.
The club released a statement on Sunday evening saying: “Given the recent downturn in results and performances, the board felt they had to make a change at this time.”
Two members of Peeters’ backroom staff, senior professional development coach Patrick van Houdt and performance analyst Guy Kiala, have also been dismissed.
There were calls for Peeters’ sacking at the Valley on Saturday afternoon, following a dismal display in a 1-0 defeat at home to 19th placed Brighton. The Belgian insisted his side were simply lacking the luck that they had at the start of the campaign, which brought victories over Wigan, Derby, Watford and Norwich. But just over 24 hours after his post-match press conference, he found out he had paid the ultimate price for the club’s rapid decline in fortune amidst reported unrest in the dressing room.
With the club now slipping closer towards the bottom end of the table as opposed to challenging in the top half, attention now turns to a tricky away match at Watford this weekend, and who will take charge of the team.
Whilst previous manager and club legend Alan Curbishley revealed this morning that he would be interested in the job, bookmakers have former Standard Liege coach Guy Lozon down as an early favourite for the role, given his links to current Charlton Athletic owner Roland Duchatelet.