London, Jun 20 (IANS): Bournemouth has dismissed coach Gary O'Neil in a surprising decision, less than a month after he steered them to an unlikely Premier League survival.

O'Neil assumed control of newly promoted Bournemouth when the club was at the bottom of the league following a 9-0 defeat to Liverpool at the end of August 2022. His predecessor, Scott Parker, had publicly questioned whether the squad could compete in the Premier League, reports Xinhua.

His commendable work with a limited squad led to some pundits placing O'Neil on their shortlists as a contender for coach of the season and resulted in an automatic two-year extension of his contract.

However, Bournemouth's American owner, Bill Forley, stated his belief that O'Neil was not the best fit to lead the club forward.

"Gary's achievement last season is one I will always be grateful for. This has been a difficult decision, but it has been made with considerable thought to best position ourselves ahead of the coming season."

"As a club, we have set plans for long-term success, with improvements being made to our infrastructure, most notably the development of a new state-of-the-art training facility and ongoing discussions around upgrades to our stadium. We have also identified several significant targets in this summer's transfer market and believe this change in direction will provide us with the best platform to build upon."

"Gary will go on to have a prosperous career as a head coach or manager, but we feel that, at this point in time, a change is in the best interest of this football club. I would like to place on record my thanks to Gary and wish him all the best for the future," said Forley on the Bournemouth website.

The club is expected to announce a replacement within the next two days.