FC Dallas dumps coach after four-game win drought (SN)

Steve Morrow of Northern Ireland was fired Tuesday as coach of FC Dallas here on Tuesday after the Major League Soccer club went winless in four games.

The 37-year-old Belfast-born mentor guided the team to a 2-3-3 start in his second season as coach after going 13-12 with five drawn last year to put the club into the playoffs for a 10th time.

Assistant coach Marco Ferruzzi, an American, was named interim coach for FC Dallas, which stands fourth in the Western Conference after three losses and a draw in the past four games, including a 5-1 home loss Saturday to Los Angeles.

“I feel that the team was not heading in the direction we had planned and believe it is in the best interest of the club to make a coaching change at this time,” FC Dallas general manager Michael Hitchcock said.

Morrow, who played for FC Dallas in 2002 and 2003 and served as an assistant coach for three seasons after that, saw his side lose to eventual repeat league champion Houston in the first round of last year's playoffs.

“Due to a recent run of poor results, I fully accept responsibility and if the team needs to go in a different direction then I wish the players nothing but great success for the remainder of the season and beyond,” Morrow said.