Manchester City have sacked women’s manager Gareth Taylor just five days before their League Cup final with Chelsea.
City are currently outside the Champions League places by a point, but have played a game more than third-placed Arsenal. They are also 12 points behind leaders Chelsea.
Nick Cushing, who managed City’s women’s side from 2013-2020, has agreed to take over until the end of the season on an interim basis.
City play Chelsea in the League Cup final on Saturday and beat Aston Villa to progress to the semi-final of the FA Cup on Sunday. They are also due to play Chelsea in the Champions League quarter-final later this month. But their draw with West Ham last week saw them fall further behind in the race for the European places for next season.
City’s managing director Charlotte O’Neill said the club made the decision to sack Taylor because of results not meeting the club’s “high standards”.
“Manchester City prides itself on competing at the top of the WSL and on its outstanding record of qualifying for European competition,” she added.
“Unfortunately, results this season have so far not reached this high standard. With six games of the WSL campaign remaining, we believe that a change of management will breathe fresh life into our bid to ensure qualification for the 2025-26 Uefa Women’s Champions League.
“We would like to place on record our thanks to Gareth for all of his efforts during his many years at City. Our FA Cup and League Cup triumphs will remain special moments in the history of this football club. We wish him all the best for the future.”
