St. Louis CITY SC fire first-year head coach Olof Mellberg after 15 games, with David Critchley named as interim manager

St. Louis CITY SC dismissed Olof Mellberg just 15 league games into his tenure, the club announced Tuesday. The decision comes after St. Louis lost 1-0 to the Colorado Rapids Saturday - the eighth scoreless game for the team under the 47-year-old Swedish manager.

The club turned to CITY2 head coach David Critchley to lead the squad on an interim basis while it searches for a new manager.

“The decision to part ways with Olof goes beyond just results," CITY SC sporting director Lutz Pfannenstiel said in a statement. “We’ve analyzed the team’s performance across a number of factors, including the need to execute against a style of play that led to the team’s initial success and has been part of our DNA for four years.

"As a club, we have certain standards we need to meet and believe a coaching change was necessary to improve our overall performance and return to a winning culture. Our fans deserve a better performing team, and we intend to give them one."

Scoring has been an issue for St. Louis. The team has scored just 11 goals in 15 league game, putting Mellberg's position under threat.

While the team's defense improved, going from allowing 1.85 goals per game last year (fourth-worst in the West) to 1.33 this season (eighth), the team regressed dramatically on the other end. The team generated just five assists all season - worst in MLS - and was mid-table in shots and shots on target.

“We understood it would take time for Olof to become acclimated to Major League Soccer and certainly acknowledge injuries made his job difficult, but we simply could not continue down this path,” St. Louis CITY SC president and GM Diego Gigliani said in a statement. “We are disappointed that we were not able to find success under Olof. He moved over here from Sweden and worked tirelessly on behalf of the club during his tenure. We wish him nothing but success in his future endeavors.”

While Mellberg only lasted three months, he isn't the shortest-tenured manager in MLS history. That distinction goes to Alfonso Mondelo, who made it only three games with the Tampa Bay Mutiny in 2001 - losing the support of players and ownership in that span.

The second-shortest coaching tenure was Charlotte's Miguel Ángel Ramírez, the club's inaugural manager, who lasted just 14 matches - winning just five games. Similar to Mondelo, a combination of on- and off-the-pitch factors played into his firing.

As St. Louis starts its search for a new manager, the next match comes on May 31 against the San Jose Earthquakes.