On Saturday, Lechia Gdańsk lost to Pogoń Szczecin 0:3 in the 16th round of the Ekstraklasa. For Szymon Grabowski's team, it was the ninth game in a row without a victory. This included eight matches in the Ekstraklasa and a defeat against Pogoń Grodzisk Mazowiecki in the Polish Cup.
In the last eight league rounds, Lechia won only three points, drawing with Widzew Łódź (1:1), Piast Gliwice (3:3) and Korona Kielce (0:0). The last time the Gdańsk team won was on September 14, beating Radomiak at home (1-0).
Lechia's poor results mean that the newcomer takes the penultimate place in the top league table. The Gdańsk team scored 11 points in 16 rounds and is only a point ahead of Śląsk Wrocław, which played one match less. Lechia is already five points behind a safe position. This position is occupied by Radomiak, which also has a game less.
After the defeat against Pogoń, Lechia announced the suspension of Grabowski as a coach. Two days later, the club announced that in Saturday's league match against GKS Katowice, the team would be led by the duo of Kevin Blackwell and Radosław Bella, who had previously been Grabowski's assistant.
Lechia terminated the contract with Grabowski
It was known that the current coach at Lechia would no longer work. However, the manner of the club's separation from the coach remained unknown. The residents of Gdańsk were supposed to inform about it this week. And they announced it on Wednesday evening.
“The club has terminated the contract with coach Szymon Grabowski, who has been removed from his duties as first team coach since the last match against Pogoń Szczecin,” Lechia said in an official statement.
“Under the leadership of Szymon Grabowski and the training and technical staff, Lechia won promotion to the top league after taking first place in the 1st League table. Unfortunately, this season Lechia won only two matches and after 16 rounds our team is in the penultimate place in the league table, which does not meet the ambitions of the club and fans,” it added.
Grabowski became Lechia's coach in the summer of 2023 and promoted the team to the top league in the first season. In total, Grabowski led the team in 52 games.