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ESPN staff 8y

Orlando City SC's sacking of Adrian Heath a 'board decision' - Rawlins

Orlando City SC president Phil Rawlins called the sacking of manager Adrian Heath "a very difficult board decision" but stressed it was a move he feels will help the club grow in the future.

Heath, who had been with the club since it began in Austin, Texas, in 2008, agreed to "amicably part ways" with the club, OCSC announced on Wednesday.

Heath began as coach of the Austin Aztex and moved with the franchise to Orlando in 2011. He won two USL championships and three USL regular-season titles before the club moved to MLS. 

"This is a board decision -- a very difficult board decision -- taken at what we believe to be the right time to enable us to put in place a platform to continue to grow and develop as a club so we can go on to the next stage," Rawlins said.

"Once you have made that decision, you have to move quickly because you have to tell the person involved so they don't hear it through social media or an agent. There had been several board meetings over the course of this season where we have looked at the development and growth of the club, and we just weren't seeing progress as a whole."

Assistant coaches Bobby Murphy and Anthony Pulis have been named as interim managers in Heath's stead.

Orlando City missed out on the playoffs in their first MLS season last year and currently are one spot out of a qualification spot, despite having, in Rawlins' estimation, an improved squad this campaign.

"We believe that we have a better squad in place [this year], and yet our points-per-game is lower than last year. We are in danger of letting another season slip away from us, but we also had to think about the best decision for the club going forward, not just the short term," Rawilins continued.

"MLS is a very difficult league to work in. In Europe, you always have the option to change out five or six players, but that's a much more difficult thing to do in a league with a salary cap. Therefore you have to look at how you get the best out of the players you have. We didn't think we were getting the best out of them. It is a tapestry of different variables and data points which you look at as a whole, and they weren't in our favor."

The club is level on points with Toronto FC in the East standings, but has collected just six points out of 15 over their past five matches. Rawlins said the time was now to make a change on the sidelines.

"It was purely a case of what trends were we seeing, and where were we going to be if they continued?" he added. "We couldn't afford to wait until the 32nd game and then say, 'Oh, we know what to do now.'

"If we get this right, we still have the opportunity to get this season right, and that's what we feel we have done with our long-term interests in mind. We have always been a community-based club, and we will continue to be so, but we want to return to the winning ways we've had before and we think we can do both."

He added: "Adrian will always have a special place in my heart, and the hearts of everyone here," Rawlins insisted. "He was obviously very disappointed, not least because he wanted to see the job through. We had a very special relationship, there's no doubt about that. But I have to think about the long-term prospects for this club and I can tell you for certain we wouldn't have made this move if we didn't think it was the right one for the future.

"I sat down with him and walked him through the board's decision, and I think he knew it was coming in his heart of hearts. This way, he gets to leave with his reputation intact and his record intact. And we will always be grateful for that record."

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