SINGAPORE — S-League champions Tampines Rovers have parted ways with Nenad Bacina, only five months after appointing the Croat as their head coach.

That is not all, the Stags also announced yesterday that Argentinian Martin Wagner, their marquee signing for this season, has resigned.

Although Tampines are top of the league with 31 points from 13 matches, ahead of second-placed Albirex Niigata (29 points), they had crashed out of the group stages of the AFC Cup after failing to win all six of their matches (two draws and four defeats).

The early exit, in turn, sealed Bacina’s fate as Tampines had signed former River Plate midfielder Wagner, ex-J-League players Kunihiro Yamashita and Seiji Kaneko, and current Lions Shaiful Esah, Shahdan Sulaiman and Khairul Amri, in a bid to do well in the second-tier continental tournament.

Said club Chairman Teo Hock Seng yesterday: “Following our AFC Cup exit, we decided we had to change direction now ... We spent money assembling a strong squad and yet we were kicked out in the early stages. It’s obvious the team is struggling.”

For the second time in two seasons, Tampines, which suffered a shock 4-0 loss to Balestier Khalsa in the S-League last Saturday, have turned to Tay Peng Kee, their General Manager, to take over as head coach. Tay was also installed as a replacement for then-head coach Steven Tan midway last season. “I was in a similar situation last season, and I am familiar with the present group of players. It’s a matter of earning their trust and working together,” said Tay.

Bacina told TODAY that he respected Tampines’ decision to remove him. “In football, you are judged by your results,” said the former Warriors FC (then known as SAFFC) skipper who has coached Hougang United and Woodlands Wellington. “I will return to Croatia to see my family and take things from there.”

Meanwhile, Wagner, who has struggled to adapt at Tampines, has quit and will return to Buenos Aires this Friday. DAN GUEN CHIN