Cardiff Manager, Mackay, Fired.

Cardiff City have sacked manager Malky Mackay after a meeting of the Welsh club’s board of directors.

The 41-year-old manager was earlier criticised by the Malaysian businessman owner of the Welsh club, Vincent Tan, concerning his signings, transfer budgets, results and style of play and, even sent him an email threatening him to resign or get fired.

Despite saying he won’t work out of his position at Cardiff, Mackay said he expected to be sacked as the club’s boss in the wake of Saturday’s 3-1 loss to Liverpool- a result which preceded their Boxing Day 3-0 loss to Southampton at home.

Cardiff City Sacks Mackay.

“The Board of Directors at #CardiffCity have relieved Malky Mackay of his duties. A new first team manager will be appointed in due course,” a statement on the club’s official twitter page (@CardiffCityFC) read.

The ex-Scotland international became Cardiff boss in June 2011, going on to lead the club to the Premier League, and also sealed the Championship title in 2013 after a 1-1 draw away at Burnley. He was voted the League Managers Association (LMA) Championship Manager of the Year on 21 May 2013.

The former Watford manager’s future at Cardiff first became uncertain following the removal of head of recruitment, Ian Moody, in October.

Moody, a long-term friend and colleague who worked with Mackay at Watford, was replaced by a 23-year-old Kazakh Alisher Apsalamov, who was a friend of tan’s son.

Cardiff chairman Mehmet Dalman released a statement on Sunday that indicated the club was monitoring Mackay for a “foreseeable future”.

Today’s dismissal could as well mean Dalman was not able to repair the fractured relationship between manager and owner of the club.

Fans of the club, who present sits on the 16th place in the league standing with 17 points from 18 matches, have ever since protested about Tan’s differences with Mackay, bringing anti-Tan banners to match venues.

Tan said he was “extremely upset” after Mackay revealed he was hoping to recruit three new players in the January transfer window and also believes the transfer budget agreed between Mackay, Moody and chief executive Simon Lim in the summer was overspent.

Mackay and Moody have reportedly denied those claims.

He becomes the sixth Premier League manager to get the boots following the sacking of Paolo Di Canio (Sunderland), Ian Holloway (Crystal Palace), Steve Clarke (West Bromwich Albion), Martin Jol (Fulham), and Andres Villas-Boas (Tottenham Hotspur).