Ottawa

Fury FC part ways with head coach Nikola Popovic

The Ottawa Fury will have a new sideline boss next season as the club elected not to renew the well-travelled coach's contract.

Coached soccer club for 2 seasons

Ottawa Fury FC head coach Nikola Popovic, seen here in 2018, will not return next season, the club announced Wednesday. (CBC)

The Ottawa Fury will have a new sideline boss next season as 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 FC general 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.

"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 to the Charleston Battery. 

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