'Gato' Romero in line to take over the reins at Málaga

Marcelo ‘Gato’ Romero is to be installed as manager of Málaga until the end of the season. The board of the south coast club has elected to go with an in-house replacement for Juande Ramos, who officially announced his departure on Wednesday after club owner Abdullah Al-Thani had tweeted his resignation last week.

Salzburg resist Óscar approach

Málaga had been considering an approach for Red Bull Salzburg coach Óscar García, but the Austrian club were not in the mood to negotiate and the Catalan tactician has no release clause in his contract.

Juande Ramos' assistant

Moves for Sergio González and Rubí were also shelved as the club decided to promote Romero, who represented the club on the pitch between 2001 and 2007 and who served as Ramos’ assistant, to the hot seat for the remainder of the season.

Romero has been on the coaching staff at La Rosaleda for three years, first under Javi Gracia and this season at Ramos’ side. His knowledge of the club and standing with the fans is viewed by sporting director Francesc Arnau as the perfect blend to see Málaga through to the end of the 2016-17 campaign, when the managerial situation will be reviewed again.