CONFIRMED: Moyes sacked; Giggs to replace him

Manchester United manager David Moyes has been sacked, only 10 months after succeeding Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford.

The club had previously refused to comment on national newspaper reports on Monday that Moyes would be dismissed before the end of the season.
Moyes, 50, was chosen by Ferguson as the man to succeed him when he retired after 26 years in charge last summer.
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Moyes left Everton to sign a six-year deal with the Premier League champions.

In a statement the club said it "would like to place on record its thanks for the hard work, honesty and integrity he brought to the role".
Player-coach Ryan Giggs is expected to take charge of United's next game at home against Norwich on Saturday.

United, who currently lie seventh in the table with four games remaining, are guaranteed to record their lowest ever points tally in the Premier League having struggled at Old Trafford in particular.

Under Moyes, they have lost six league games at home, been beaten in the FA Cup by Swansea at Old Trafford and were unable to prevent Sunderland knocking them out of the Capital One Cup in the semi-finals.

In March, some supporters chartered a plane to fly overhead trailing a banner with the words "Wrong One - Moyes Out" - a reference to the banner at Old Trafford that proclaimed Moyes to be the "Chosen One" - during the Premier League win over Aston Villa.

Man Utd's disappointing season
Defeated in Champions League quarter-final by Bayern Munich

Beaten in League Cup semi-final by Sunderland

Lost at home to Swansea in the third round of the FA Cup

Five points from a possible 24 against the current Premier League top four of Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester City and Arsenal

Defeat against Everton confirmed club will miss out on Champions League for first time in 18 seasons

The Reds will also miss out on Champions League football for the first time since 1995 and are in danger of missing out on European competition altogether for the first time since 1990.

United did reach the last eight of the Champions League before being knocked out by Bayern Munich and Moyes argued that their best displays had been in the competition.
But the Scot has been dogged by claims he has fallen out with members of his squad.

When midfielder Anderson joined Fiorentina on loan in January, he was quoted as saying other United players "wanted out" although he later denied it.

Rio Ferdinand and Robin van Persie also made less than complimentary comments about his management style, while Javier Hernandez and Wilfried Zaha posted cryptic quotes on Twitter.

At the weekend, Manchester-born striker Danny Welbeck was reported to be considering his future after becoming frustrated at regularly being played out of his favoured position.