Africa Cup of Nations 2019: Guinea, Namibia, teams with low returns from tournament go about firing coaches for poor performance

Cairo: Two more coaches have lost their jobs and another is expected to depart in coming days as the fallout from the Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt continues for the sides who did not live up to expectations. Paul Put was fired by Guinea on Monday despite his side reaching the last 16 while Ricardo Mannetti has not had his contract renewed after Namibia lost all three group games. [caption id=“attachment_7004671” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Namibia coach Ricardo Mannetti during the Africa Cup of Nations. Reuters[/caption] The future of two-time Cup of Nations winner Herve Renard, who is the coach of Morocco, also appears to be heading to an end with local media on Monday trumpeting his departure only for the coach to leave his immediate future unclear with an opaque statement. “At my request, I have met (Fouzi) Lekjaa, president of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation,” said Renard. “We have taken stock of the competition that has just ended for us. We also talked about the future, I gave him my opinion. We have agreed not to make any public statement.” Morocco had been one of the pre-tournament favourites but their elimination on post-match penalties by tiny Benin in the last 16 was a major shock for the tournament and embarrassment for the north Africans. Frenchman Renard, 50, won the title in 2012 with Zambia and in 2015 with Ivory Coast and had a good chance again of an unprecedented third title with three different countries. Put traded blames with captain Ibrahima Traore over tactics at the tournament. His dismissal was announced by the Guinea Football Federation who accused him of meddling in financial matters. The Belgian, who had been in the job for 16 months, rejected the charges. The 44-year-old Mannetti departed after five years in charge of Namibia — an unusually long tenure by African standards — and was on Monday replaced by Bobby Samaria. Coaches of hosts Egypt, Tanzania and Uganda have also left their posts in the wake of disappointing returns at the Cup of Nations finals.