Daejeon Hana Citizen appoint caretaker manager ahead of Ulsan clash

Last-place Daejeon Hana Citizen will face K League 1 defending champions Ulsan HD on Saturday without a permanent manager.

Lee Min-sung watches a K League 1 match between Daejeon Hana Citizen and FC Seoul at Seoul World Cup Stadium in western Seoul on July 1, 2023. [YONHAP]

Last-place Daejeon Hana Citizen will face K League 1 defending champions Ulsan HD on Saturday without a permanent manager.

Daejeon announced Tuesday that Lee Min-sung had resigned after hitting the bottom of the league table. Assistant coach Jung Kwang-seok has been appointed as a caretaker manager until Daejeon appoint a new permanent boss.

Lee’s resignation came only one season after he led Daejeon to promotion to the first division.

Lee, 50, joined Daejeon in December 2020 ahead of the 2021 K League 2 season. After finishing his first season at Daejeon in third place in the second division, he won the promotion-and-relegation playoffs in the 2022 campaign, sending the club through to the top tier for the 2023 season.

Daejeon managed a solid run in the 2023 K League 1 campaign, finishing in eighth place on the 12-team table. But the club has struggled so far this season, sitting in last place with two wins, five draws and six losses as of Tuesday.

Ineffective offense is Daejeon’s biggest issue this season. The club has only scored 13 goals in 13 league matches so far — the second fewest goals scored.

No Daejeon forward has proved to be effective in the absence of Tiago Orobo, who scored 17 goals last season for Daejeon as the second top scorer in the league. He left to join fellow K League 1 team Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors ahead of the 2024 campaign.

Daejeon have been winless since beating FC Seoul 3-1 on April 27. The club has plenty of time to bounce back, though, as the season lasts through December.

Daejeon is two points below 11th-place Jeonbuk on the 12-team table and three points below ninth-place Daegu FC.

In the K League 1, the 10th, 11th and 12th place clubs land in the relegation zone. The last-place team is relegated to the second division, while the 10th and 11th teams play the promotion-relegation playoffs against K League 2 sides to decide which teams secure places in the top tier the following season.

Daejeon led by interim boss Jung will take on reigning champions Ulsan at Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium on Saturday. Ulsan, who sit in third place, are one point behind league leaders Pohang Steelers.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]