Sinisa Mihajlovic has been sacked by AC Milan, ending his spell at the helm of the Serie A giants.

News of the 47-year-old’s departure came on Tuesday via a statement on the Milan website:

Sinisa Mihajlovic has been relieved of his role as AC Milan coach.

The club would like to thank Mihajlovic for the dedication and hard work carried out this season.

Cristian Brocchi will now be in charge of the first team until the end of the season. AC Milan would like to welcome Mr Brocchi and wish him all the best.

The Serbian was appointed by the Rossoneri in the summer of 2015 after a successful spell at Sampdoria.

But with Milan in sixth place in Serie A after 32 games, the decisive action has been taken following a run of five games on the bounce without a victory.

It leaves the San Siro club searching for their fourth new boss since Massimiliano Allegri was relieved of his duties in 2014 and no closer to cementing themselves as a major force in Italian football again.

During Mihajlovic‘s tenure, there were some positive moves made by the former Inter Milan player. Wins over Lazio and Udinese on the road showcased the potential of this squad, although a loss to Inter in the derby and a heavy 4-0 defeat at home to Napoli pointed to a group that was still rife with some perennial frailties.

Still, despite mixed results, the sacking feels premature. Mihajlovic seemed to strike up a strong bond with the players and wasn’t shy on making big decisions.

Indeed, his integration of Gianluigi Donnarumma into the first-team as a 16-year-old was a brave move, but one that has paid off after some stellar showings from the teenager. As WF Commentaries noted earlier in the campaign, it’s refreshing to see a manager make these calls and for them to bear fruit:

Mihajlovic will not have the luxury of seeing whether his plans will yield long-term benefits, though, just like Filippo Inzaghi and Clarence Seedorf before him.

Although things could have been better during his tenure, the Serbian seemed like a steady hand for a club in desperate need of some consistency. Now Milan find themselves searching for a new figurehead and a manager who is likely to imprint more fresh ideas on a squad that has endured many different voices telling them what to do in recent years.

Whoever comes in is going to need the patience of the Rossoneri hierarchy in order to succeed, something that has hardly been afforded to any of the job’s most recent incumbents. Until Milan decide to put some renewed faith in a manager, regardless of how he begins his tenure, they’ll find it extremely difficult to ascend from the mid-table obscurity they’re in.

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