Wigan Athletic axe coach Hutchings

English Premier League club Wigan Athletic sacked manager Chris Hutchings on Monday.

Saturday's 2-0 home loss to Chelsea was Wigan's sixth successive defeat and they have taken only eight points from 12 matches.

Assistant manager Frank Barlow will be in charge temporarily, with his first game in control at Tottenham on Sunday.

Wigan chairman Dave Whelan said: "It is crucial for our development that we maintain our Premier League status. Following our results and performances in recent matches we feel it is critical to act now.

"It is the best interests of the club and its long-term future."

For Hutchings it is a classic case of deja vu.

It was the second time that he had succeeded Paul Jewell in a managerial role, following his step up at Bradford City in 2000. On that occasion he survived for five months, tasting victory once in 12 Premiership outings.

Wigan made a fine start to the present season, with two wins and a draw in their first four matches. They led the table briefly but a home League Cup defeat by Hull City started a slide that has not been arrested.

Whelan said: "This has been a very difficult decision for me and the board to make.

"Having been so close to the team and such a big part of our success, I felt Chris deserved to be given the chance to take over as number one last summer.

"He has worked very hard since becoming manager and I cannot fault his effort and commitment to the cause."

Whelan said the search for a new manager would be "exhaustive".

Hutchings, whose playing career included a spell with Chelsea, began his coaching career with Rotherham's youth team.

He moved to Bradford City as assistant manager under Chris Kamara and then Jewell. Bradford were promoted to the Premier League and Hutchings became number one when Jewell moved to Sheffield Wednesday.

He lasted for 21 games, which included a run of one win in 12 Premiership games, and was sacked in November 2000

Hutchings succeeded Jewell for a second time at Wigan on 14 May this year, having been assistant for six years.

He is the fourth English Premier League manager to lose his job this season. Chelsea's Jose Mourinho departed on September 20, with Bolton's Sammy Lee and Tottenham's Martin Jol being sacked last month.

FIFA President Sepp Blatter has said that he wants to restrict coaches from changing clubs outside the transfer window.

"We'll try to extend the rule that is valid for players to coaches," Blatter told La Gazzetta dello Sport ,when asked to cooment on Ronald Koeman's recent move from PSV Eindhoven to Valencia and Juande Ramos' switch from Sevilla to Tottenham. E-mail to a friend