West Ham have parted company with 與…分離 manager Avram Grant after a 3-2 defeat at Wigan sealed their relegation from the Premier League.

The club confirmed the Israeli was leaving the club just over an hour after their 18th league defeat of a dismal campaign （表現(xiàn)）不怎么樣的賽季。

"Avram Grant is no longer the manager of West Ham United," a statement said.

First-team coach Kevin Keen will take charge for the final game of the season at home to Sunderland next Sunday.

Grant's time at West Ham fell well short of 遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)不足 the four-year contract he signed in June 2010.

After beginning the season with four defeats in a row, the club was never out of trouble, despite the best efforts of captain Scott Parker, who was named Football Writers' Player of the Year.

If West Ham were to stand any chance of staying in the Premier League, they desperately needed a win against Wigan.

BBC Sport chief football writer Phil McNulty was at the DW Stadium for the match.

He said: "Rumours started to gather pace 開(kāi)始加速 that Avram Grant had been sacked even before he attended his post-match press conference. He was asked whether he had already lost his job and said 'I am not going to talk about myself'."

Grant then disappeared and around 20 minutes later a West Ham spokesman returned to the press room to tell the waiting media that Avram Grant was no longer West Ham's manager and that Kevin Keen would take charge of their final game.

"Grant looked close to tears throughout his final media briefing as West Ham manager and it now appears he knew his fate was sealed 命運(yùn)以定 even before he spoke about the result that had condemned West Ham to relegation," McNulty added.

Speaking to Match of the Day 2, Grant said it was the "most sad day" of his career in football.

"I'm also sorry for the supporters, the people in the club and the players," he said.