Fury FC part ways with head coach Nikola Popovic

The Ottawa Fury will have a new sideline boss next seasonas the club has elected not to renew the contract of head coach Nikola Popovic.

Popovic, who has been with the team since 2017, had a record of 27 wins, 25 losses and 16 draws in USL Championship regular season action.

Fury FCgeneral manager Julian de Guzman said it was time for the club to part ways with the well-travelled Popovic, who'd coached in eight different countries before arriving in Ottawa.

• De Guzmankeeps Fury GM job, Popovic joins club as head coach

"I have a lot of respect for Nikola as a person and as a professional. It was a very difficult decision to make, but we ultimately decided to go in a different direction," de Guzman said Wednesday in a statement.

"I would like to thank Nikola for his commitment to Fury FC and wish him success and good luck in his future endeavours."

The team missed the playoffs in Popovic's first season. This year they made the Eastern Conference play-in, butlost in penalty kicks tothe Charleston Battery.

The club said it would announce the next steps regarding the process of finding anew head coach in the future.