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TORONTO - Aron Winter, the former Dutch international who managed Toronto FC into the semifinals of this past season's CONCACAF Champions League, departed the club on Thursday after the team had endured a record nine-game losing streak to begin the U.S. league season.
He was replaced by director of player development and former England international Paul Mariner,
"This was a very difficult decision for both of us, but one that I believe is necessary given our team's regular season results," said Tom Anselmi, executive vice-president and chief operating officer for Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment. "Our fans have been very patient and we gave Aron every opportunity to turn things around, but it came to a point where a change needed to be made."
Toronto has won its past two matches, including one to end its Major League Soccer skid, but has won only four matches all season, three of which were in cup competitions including a quarterfinal victory over the LA Galaxy in the Champions League.
Two others came in the Amway Canadian Championship - including the second leg of the title series against Vancouver - to send Toronto to the Champions League for a fourth straight year.
But it has lost 10 matches this year, has the worst record in MLS and is five points behind the next closest team.
In 17 months Winter had won only seven of 44 games in MLS with Toronto, which has not made the league cup playoffs in five seasons of existence.
The 59-year-old Mariner played with Plymouth, Ipswich, Arsenal and Portsmouth before finishing his career with clubs in Australia, Malta and the United States.
He was assistant coach at Harvard University and the New England Revolution, under Steve Nicol for five years, before a five-month stint as manager at former club Plymouth Argyle.
"I believe our team is better than its record shows, and that we can achieve success throughout the remainder of the season," Mariner said in a statement released by the team. "I'm looking forward to the challenge and turning things around on the pitch as soon as possible."
