TEHRAN- Five months after it began, Mahmoud Fekri’s career as Esteghlal head coach is over.

Sattar Hamedani, former Esteghlal midfielder and sporting director, believes that the club’s directors are as much to blame as the former head coach Fekri for the team’s poor run of form.

Fekri, who was fired on Tuesday, leaves the club third in the Iran Professional League (IPL) table, six points off the top.

“Fekri should have worked better at Esteghlal, there is no doubt about it. He couldn’t handle the challenges and manage the problems in a difficult time. However, I firmly believe that the club's top directors are also to blame for what happened to the club,” Hamedani told Tehran Times.

Fekri’s downfall was the consequence of a string of poor results which saw the blues two defeats and just one win in their last five IPL games. His final game was Monday's draw against Mes Rafsanjan.

“Fekri was sacked but the managers who have created the situation have stayed at the club and are deciding the future of Esteghlal,” Hamedani said.

“I emphasize that the club’s directors are also to blame because we have seen in the last few years that every coach who has worked at Esteghlal, has had problems and difficulties with the management of the club.

“They have not changed their approach to appointing the head coaches during the recent years and Fekri knew that when he accepted the job. The results and inconsistent form went against him at last,” Hamedani added.