Ince sacked by Blackpool

Blackpool fans got their wish yesterday as the club announced the sacking of manager Paul Ince.

The club’s 2-0 defeat to bottom-side Barnsley on Saturday meant the Seasiders had lost nine of their last 10 games, leading to speculation that Ince would lose his job.

It appeared as though the former Blackburn manager had managed to escape that fate after talks with chairman Karl Oyston on Sunday evening ended with Ince’s job still intact.

But after the Blackpool Supporters Association (BSA) publicly called for him to be given the boot late on Monday night, Ince and assistants Alex Rae and Steve Thompson were axed within 24 hours.

In an open letter to Oyston, the BSA said Ince’s position was “untenable” and felt Ince had “damaged the reputation of the club”.

The fans had seen Ince receive a five-game stadium ban in October after an expletive-laden rant at a fourth official at Bournemouth while Blackpool had three men sent off in the loss at Yeovil on December 3 and two more in a 5-1 thrashing to Derby four days later.