Portugal Colonial - Minnesota United fire English manager Heath

The former Everton forward has been the club's only coach since they joined MLS having taken over in November 2016 ahead of their debut season in the league.

The 62-year-old, who managed Burnley and Sheffield United in England before moving to the United States, had taken Minnesota to the playoffs in each of the past four seasons.

But the team have struggled of late and is 12th in the 14-team Western Conference with only a slim chance of making the post-season.

Minnesota lost 5-1 at champions Los Angeles FC on Wednesday, extending a winless run to seven games with United's last victory coming on August 30.

Assistant Coach Sean McAuley, who hails from Yorkshire in England, will take charge for the remainder of the campaign with two games left in the regular season.

"We are grateful to Adrian for his dedication to our club and for all that we have accomplished over the last seven seasons. This was a difficult decision, but we believe that the time is right to move in a new direction," said Minnesota chief executive officer Shari Ballard.

"Whenever a club decides to make a coaching change, there is a tendency to focus only on the end of that coach's tenure; however, the conclusion of Adrian's time with MNUFC should not diminish his significant contributions to our club.

"His passion and hard work have been enormously impactful and we thank him for all that he has done for MNUFC and for our community."

Heath has been coaching in the United States, almost without interruption, for 15 years.

His first role was at the former Austin Aztex in the second-tier United Soccer League in 2008 and he remained with the franchise when it moved to Orlando.

He was coach when Orlando City moved up from USL to MLS, taking charge of their first season in 2015, but he was sacked in July 2016, joining Minnesota four months later.

V.Dantas--PC