Former Dundee United manager Mixu Paatelainen is set to depart HIFK after suffering relegation from the Finnish top-flight.
Paatelainen, 55, replaced Bernardo Tavares at the helm of the Reds in April.
However, he has guided HIFK to just ONE win this season and the club’s relegation to the second tier was confirmed over the weekend when they succumbed to a 4-0 defeat against VPS Vaasa.
Paatelainen also endured the drop during his brief time in charge of United, with the former Tannadice striker proving unable to arrest the malaise of the 2015/16 campaign during seven months in the job.
Confirming his impending departure, yle.fi report Paatelainen as stating: “I have discussed the continuation (of his tenure) with the club management.
“From the beginning, both sides felt that we wanted to continue and build. But after thinking about it, maybe this is better.”
He will remain at the helm for HIFK’s two remaining fixtures against IFK Mariehamn and FC Lahti.
Paatelainen, who also lined up for the likes of St Johnstone, Aberdeen and St Mirren during his playing days, bossed Cowdenbeath, Hibernian and Kilmarnock to varying degrees of success.
Since then, his managerial career has taken him to Ubon UMT United in Thailand and spells in charge of the Finnish, Latvian and Hong Kong national sides.
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