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United branded 'unprofessional'

David Moyes' last game as Manchester United manager was against his former side Everton © Getty Images

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Manchester United have been branded "unprofessional" for the way they handled the sacking of manager David Moyes by the LMA.

The Scot, who was selected by Sir Alex Ferguson last summer to become the new man in charge at Old Trafford, lasted less than a year in the role with the 2-0 loss to his former side Everton last Sunday his final game in charge.

News of his impending departure leaked from United on Easter Monday but Moyes was not informed of the club's decision to axe him until Tuesday morning.

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The manager is said to have discovered he was about to be sacked through websites reporting the news and he was left to travel to the club's Carrington training ground aware he was likely to be told his services were no longer required.

LMA chief executive Richard Bevan said: "The LMA is very disappointed with the nature of David's departure from Manchester United and to read extensive reports in the press, confirming David's sacking, before David himself had been spoken to officially by the club.

"Throughout his time at United, David, as he always does, has conducted himself with integrity and professionalism, values that he believes in and that have been strongly associated with the club and its rich tradition. It is therefore sad to see the end of David's tenure at United being handled in an unprofessional manner."

Gary Neville labelled United's handling of the situation as "repulsive" before official confirmation of the sacking came and Bevan claims a manager of Moyes' calibre deserved better.

"David is one of the most talented, knowledgeable and dedicated managers in British Football," Bevan said. "He has a wealth of experience accumulated in a management career that started when he was 35 and already spans 16 years, with over 800 games in the professional game.

"David is a three-time winner of the LMA Manager of the Year Award, and without a doubt, he has a significant future in front of him in football management. He is passionate about the game and I know he possesses the drive and resilience to learn from this chapter of his career and move on to a new challenge in the game."

However, the Guardian have reported that United have refuted that they were in any way culpable for the reports in the press, as reported by ESPN on Tuesday evening.

"We do not accept that it was handled in an unprofessional manner," a United spokesman said.

"The decision was not taken until late Monday night and was communicated face-to-face first thing on Tuesday morning. When reports started emerging on internet news sites on Monday afternoon, no decision had been taken at that time."

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