Premier League cult hero is sacked by National League club just months after being appointed manager following woeful start to the new season

A former Premier League player has been sacked as manager of a National League club after just seven games of the new season.

Solihull Moors had been pushing for promotion in recent years, having lost out in the play-off final in the 2023-24 season before a disappointing 14th-place finish last campaign.

There had been hopes of improvement this season, but the club are rock bottom of the National League table with just three points from their seven games so far and concerns already rife.

That has caused the club's owners to make a change in terms of the manager, with the boss, who was appointed in January, relieved of his duties on Wednesday.

The person in question is former West Ham star Matt Taylor, who also featured for the likes of Bolton Wanderers and Portsmouth before venturing into management.

He had hoped to boost his career again after a lull, but it has potentially gone backwards after leaving his side sat winless and bottom of the fourth division.

A Premier League cult hero has been sacked by his National League club just months after being appointed as manager

Matt Taylor (right), who featured for the likes of Portsmouth and West Ham, was in charge of Solihull Moors

His side, though, are winless and bottom of the table and have opted to make a managerial change after another defeat

The club said in a statement: 'Solihull Moors can confirm that Matt Taylor has left the club with immediate effect. We would like to place on record our thanks to Matt for his commitment to the club and we wish him every success in his future endeavours.

'The search for a new manager begins immediately, but we are pleased to welcome back James Quinn who will take the team on Saturday for the game at Boston.

'We encourage all supporters to get behind Quinny and the team at Boston and beyond.'

Taylor's last game in charge was a 1-0 home defeat by Yeovil on Tuesday night, while they were also beaten 2-1 by Southend United at the weekend.

After making 690 professional career appearances as a midfielder - including 204 for Portsmouth and 138 for Bolton, with 324 coming in the Premier League - Taylor retired in 2019 and embarked on his coaching career full time.

Having started that at Tottenham's academy, his first permanent job as a manager was with Walsall, where he lasted a little less than a year before being sacked by the League Two club when they were just above the relegation zone.

Following that, he joined Shrewsbury in League One, but again lasted a matter of months. He took over at Wealdstone in the National League in May 2024 before joining Solihull Moors in January this year, but is now on the hunt for his latest club again.