Stuart McCall: Bradford City sack manager after six straight defeats

McCall had two spells with Bradford as a player and also previously managed them between May 2007 and February 2010

Bradford City have sacked manager Stuart McCall after a run of six successive defeats in all competitions.

The 53-year-old's departure brings to an end his second spell in charge of the Bantams, with whom he also started his career as a player.

McCall took over in June 2016 and led Bradford to the League One play-off final last season, a game they lost to Millwall.

Bradford are sixth in the table despite a run of five straight league defeats.

However, that run of form has seen them slip 13 points behind the automatic promotion places, while they also lost 2-0 at League Two side Yeovil in the FA Cup.

McCall's last game in charge was Saturday's 2-1 defeat at relegation-threatened Oldham, while the Bantams' previous home game saw them thrashed 4-0 by struggling AFC Wimbledon.

In a statement, the club said the decision to terminate McCall's contract had "not been taken lightly".

"Unfortunately, we have now suffered six straight defeats and the last two fixtures in particular have not brought about the positive change in performances or results that we all hoped for," the statement said.

"We believe that our current squad is capable of performing to a much higher standard than we have seen recently. We must all accept responsibility for the recent poor run of form, including our players who now have the opportunity to put it right.

"As such, we believe that a change is in the best interests of the club at this time in order to give us the best chance of finishing the season strongly."

McCall spent 10 years with Bradford as a player over two separate spells before becoming manager for the first time in May 2007.