Hercules coach pays price for dour run

Hercules have sacked head coach Esteban Vigo after slipping to the foot of the La Liga table following a 4-0 defeat to Osasuna.

Vigo orchestrated the club’s return to the Spanish top flight for the first time since 1997 after finishing runners-up in the Segunda Division last season.

Hercules scored an upset 2-0 win away to Barcelona in September – still the champions’ only home defeat of the season – and also managed victories over Sevilla and Atletico Madrid.

But the team have collected just seven points from a possible 39 in 2011 and have lost nine of their last 11 matches.

They went bottom of the table after Malaga’s 2-0 win over Espanyol on Saturday and are now four points adrift of safety with nine matches left.

The 56-year-old Vigo, who was contracted until June 2012, has paid for the team’s poor form with his job.

The club is yet to name a replacement.

Following the international break, Hercules’ next match is away to mid-table Real Sociedad on April 3.