Daugava sack coach

PFK/Daugava head coach Juris Popkovs has been sacked just 30 days before the start of the new Latvian Virsliga season.

"I'm making history"
Popkovs said he could not see a good reason behind the move by club officials. "I did not resign," he said. "It is a decision made by club officials. I don't really understand what was the reason for that, I think my ex-bosses will know more about that. It wasn't a big surprise to me, but I still think it's nonsense to fire a coach with a month to go before season starts. I think I'm making history here." Popkovs also confirmed that he will remain in charge of the Latvian Under-21 team, but said he is was not interested in working for another Virsliga club.

Co-founder comments
Daugava co-founder Valdis Voins said: "We are grateful to Juris for his work. He is the best coach to ever work at this club. But in the present situation our club is not capable of keeping him for financial reasons. It is not true to say that we will not play in the Virsliga because of financial reasons. But it is true that we have problems with the squad."

Interim appointment
Aleksandrs Kalidzejs, a former assistant to Popkovs, will serve as interim coach. "We are looking for a new coach, but we don`t have candidates at the moment," Volns said. "I think we will solve this problem in a week." Under Popkovs Daugava finished fifth in the Virsliga last season.