My sacking was silly

Michael Laudrup claims to have seen his time at Swansea ended by an e-mail just hours after agreeing to stay on as manager - an experience that may leave a sour taste in the mouth but will not stop him returning to the Premier League.

Less than a year after he led them to their first major trophy, the League Cup, the south Wales club decided to part company with the Dane earlier this month.

Swansea had just one win to show from their previous 10 top-flight matches when Laudrup exited the Liberty Stadium, much to the manager's surprise.

The former midfielder thought an agreement had been reached with Huw Jenkins (inset) for him and his coaching team to stay on, although he claimed in an unusual press conference at Heathrow that the Swansea chairman quickly reneged on his promise.

"We ended up saying we have to stay together, we shook hands and he says 'thank you very much because you want to help the club'," Laudrup said of Feb 4, the day he departed.

"Later that afternoon, while I'm talking on the phone, I receive a mail where it says that due to breach of contract, with immediate effect, my deal is terminated.

CONFUSED

"It was just a few hours after we shook hands and, of course, I'm very, very confused.

"I called and I said 'what is going on?' after we shook hands and everything, but he said 'yeah, after thinking'.

"It was a little difficult to hear what was said.

"I said 'by the way, what does 'breach' mean?' and he couldn't explain that.

"He didn't really know.

"While I'm on the phone, my wife is saying that things are already on the Internet, that I've been dismissed."

Laudrup had to wait nine days to find out the reasons for his departure and has yet to respond to Swansea, claiming the allegations were "silly" and "incredible".

The Dane was unable to elaborate on such matters due to the fact legal proceedings are ongoing, although he was more forthcoming on other matters during a lengthy press conference.

Laudrup confirmed he had written to Swansea's players after being stopped from saying goodbye to them and had received messages of support from the likes of Sir Alex Ferguson and Gary Lineker.

The well-travelled manager also confirmed he would welcome a return to the Premier League, despite the acrimonious manner in which he has departed Swansea. - PA Sport.