Everton have ended Walter Smith’s three-and-a-half-year reign at the Merseyside club by terminating his contract. The club announced in a statement this morning, ‘Everton Football Club wishes to announce that its team manager Mr Walter Smith OBE has today left the club, his contract having been terminated.
The club wishes to thank Mr Smith for his service since his appointment in the summer of 1998. The club has now begun the process of identifying and then appointing a new manager, something which, it is hoped, will be concluded as swiftly as possible. No further comment will be made until the club is in a position to name its new team manager.’
The news will be welcomed by a large section of Everton fans who have been calling for his head as the club slipped further and further into relegation trouble.
It is believed that Preston boss David Moyes is being lined up as his replacement and that Archie Knox, Smith's assistant, will assume temporary control of the team until then.
Filed by Johnny Proby
