Laudrup hits out at 'silly' sacking

18 February 2014 19:01

Michael Laudrup is continuing with legal action against Swansea, hitting out at the "silly" and "incredible" reasons they have given for sacking him.

Less than a year after winning the Capital One Cup, the club's first major trophy, Swansea chose to part company with their Danish manager two weeks ago.

That decision infuriated Laudrup, leading him to release a statement through the League Managers Association indicating that he would take legal action against the south Wales club.

The former midfielder had kept his counsel since then, only to take the unusual step of convening a press conference at a Heathrow hotel on Tuesday to speak publicly for the first time since his exit.

"On one part it has been positive to see all the reaction from other clubs and commentators, saying 'what has he done (wrong)? It can't be last year'," Laudrup said.

"You can argue that you can't live in the past, but even this year we're there in the FA Cup, there in the Europa League.

"The last two months we had a bad run, but you still have the same points as 11 teams and only three go down.

"On the other hand, it has been negative for me because I couldn't say anything.

"I had to wait nine days for a letter that said a lot of very silly things, which I can't reveal. I was just blocked and then, of course, Michael is not talking so people think what they want. More rumours and more rumours go on."

Laudrup said he was sacked due to "breach of contract" and, when asked if he could understand the reasons given, added: "I don't know if I have to use 'silly', other words or 'incredible'. I can't go into details."

However, despite the fact legal proceedings are ongoing, Laudrup did elaborate on matters during a lengthy press conference.

He confirmed the powers that be at the south Wales club raised questions over the coaching structure in mid-January, before sending him another message after the defeat to West Ham.

Laudrup met with Jenkins to discuss matters the following Tuesday and thought an agreement had been struck, only for the situation to quickly turn on its head.

"We ended up saying we have to stay together, we shook hands and he says 'thank you very much because you want to help the club'," Laudrup said.

"Later that afternoon, while I'm talking on the phone, I receive a mail where it says that due to breach of contract, with immediate effect, my deal is terminated.

"It was just a few hours after we shook hands and, of course, I'm very, very confused.

"I called and I said 'what is going on?' after we shook hands and everything, but he said 'yeah, after thinking' - it was a little difficult to hear what was said.

"I said 'by the way, what does breach mean?' and he couldn't explain that. He didn't really know.

"While I'm on the phone, my wife is saying that things are already on the internet, that I've been dismissed."

Poor form was clearly a big factor, but the difference in opinion over the backroom team appears to have been the sticking point.

While Garry Monk has now succeeded him at the Liberty Stadium helm, Laudrup refused to confirm or deny whether there was a disagreement with Jenkins over a request for the long-serving defender to join the coaching staff.

"He asked me if at some point if I could find a position for him," he said. "But I think they already said that two or three years ago, that he should always be prepared.

"I can only say I spoke to Garry as well, but of course that is confidential. We just spoke, him and I, but nothing more. I didn't say that [I did not want him as part of my staff]."

Source: PA