Aaron Ramsey put in charge of Championship club in shock decision
Ex-Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey has been put in temporary charge of Cardiff City - with Omer Riza sacked.
The decision was made less than 24 hours after the Bluebirds slumped to a 2-0 defeat to Sheffield United on Friday.
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Midfielder Ramsey, who has played for the club ten times this season, will now take their final three Championship fixtures - in what is his first official role in management.
The Wales legend is tasked with keeping the Welsh club afloat in the Championship as they sit 23rd with 42 points, one away from safety.
The club also confirmed Chris Gunter, Joe Ralls, Tom Hutton and Matthew Bloxham will join Ramsey in the dugout.
The Bluebirds are winless in their last five league fixtures and have won once in their last nine.
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The 34-year-old earned his UEFA A and Elite Youth A coaching licences last September and has spent time working with Cardiff's under-18s.
One individual who has tipped Ramsey for success as a coach is Wales boss Craig Bellamy.
Speaking in October last year, Bellamy was 'quietly confident' Ramsey would have a future in the dugout.
"I definitely see that part of him [management]... I believe it's starting to circle, because it does later on in your career," Bellamy said.
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"I'm quietly confident he will, I'm quietly confident he will see that part of the game for him.
"With his experiences and his knowledge, his understanding of the game, I'd be surprised if it wasn't at a high level."
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As for Riza, the axe came only a handful of days after he branded the club's fanbase as 'clueless' in a bizarre rant.
Having come under pressure in recent weeks amid the Bluebirds' form, Riza addressed the criticism he has faced from angry supporters.
"I do read comments, I read all the comments from fans and unfortunately a lot of them are clueless," Riza said.
Riza was then involved in a tense exchange with a reporter following Friday's defeat against the Blades.
When asked by a reporter what Cardiff needed to do to return to winning ways on Monday at home against Oxford United, Riza said: "Score goals and not concede."
The reporter asked if it was as simple as that, only for Riza to respond: "It's football, isn't it? Got to score more than the opposition."
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Riza was then pressed on how he goes about that, only to ask the reporter: "You tell me how I go about doing it."
The reporter replied: "I'm not the manager of Cardiff City, am I?"
Riza hit back: "You're asking me how a question. I've already explained to you how we've approached the game and we'll be approaching it the same way. Try to create opportunities and to score goals and not concede. That's the only thing we can do."
The 45-year-old initially took over at Cardiff on an interim basis after Erol Bulut was sacked in September and won four, lost four and drew four before his appointment was made permanent.
However, Riza won only seven of the 28 games that followed before his tenure was cut short.