David Moyes sacked by Manchester United despite being hand-picked

Manager David Moyes has been sacked by Manchester United, the club announced on their Twitter account on Tuesday.

"Manchester United announces that David Moyes has left the club," United said.

"The club would like to place on record its thanks for the hard work, honesty and integrity he brought to the role."

News of Moyes's exit comes a day after widespread reports in the British media that he was facing the sack, just 10 months after succeeding Alex Ferguson as manager of the world-famous club.

The 50-year-old Scot endured a torrid debut campaign at Old Trafford, with United falling to seventh place in the Premier League and being eliminated from both domestic cup competitions and the Champions League.

Moyes's last game in charge was a 2-0 loss at his former club Everton, which confirmed that United would not compete in the Champions League next season for the first time since 1995.

The defeat, United's 11th of the league campaign, left the defending champions 13 points below the Champions League places and 23 points behind leaders Liverpool.

British newspaper reports on Tuesday said that Moyes had been informed of his fate during an early-morning meeting with chief executive Ed Woodward at the club's Carrington training ground.

Current player-coach Ryan Giggs and his former United team-mate Nicky Butt are reportedly set to be placed in caretaker charge for Saturday's home game with Norwich City.

Louis van Gaal, the current Netherlands coach, has been installed as the favourite to succeed Moyes on a permanent basis by British bookmakers, with Jurgen Klopp of Borussia Dortmund another rumoured contender.