OITA (Kyodo) Troubled J. League club Oita Trinita have given manager Pericles Chamusca a stay of execution just days after indicating the charismatic Brazilian was on his way out, team official Yasushi Hara said Monday.
"He will be in charge of the team for the next game," Hara said, referring to Sunday's trip to Jubilo Iwata. "At the moment I can't comment on what will happen after that."
Rooted to the foot of the first division, Oita were condemned to their 13th consecutive league defeat after going down 2-1 at home to JEF United Chiba on Saturday and Chamusca's fate now looks set to rest on Sunday's result at Yamaha Stadium.
Chamusca has made clear his wish to continue at the helm of the team he guided to victory in last year's Nabsico Cup final, and Hara admitted the club would face a difficult task in finding a successor given the club's current plight.
"The manager has expressed a strong wish to continue in charge of the team," said Hara when asked why Oita had not followed through with their plan to dismiss Chamusca. "And we don't know if anyone would want to take over in light of the dire situation the team is in."