Javier Clemente has been appointed coach of Liga side Murcia following the sacking of Lucas Alcaraz.

Alcaraz - who achieved promotion with the Spanish minnows last season - was fired after Murcia were, as expected, dragged into a relegation scrap.

Clemente, who was close to becoming the Iran national team coach last month, inherits a side second bottom in La Liga, six points from safety, with five wins from 26 games since winning promotion.

"It hurts me to make these types of decisions especially when Alcaraz has been working so hard, but it's the results that count," Murcia president Jesus Samper told a news conference.

Alcaraz was in his second season at the helm after steering them to third place in the second division last year.

"Clemente has the capacity, the professionalism, the talent and a great knowledge of football," Samper added.

"We should all now get behind the new coach to move this project forward. He has the spirit of winner and is familiar with the squad."

Clemente, 57, has been given a contract until the end of the season.

He will be seeking to end a run of four consecutive defeats when he takes charge for the first time for Sunday's league match at home to Getafe.

He took charge of Spain after their failure to qualify for the 1992 European Championship in Sweden, guiding them to both the quarter-finals of the 1994 World Cup and Euro 96.

He was appointed Serbia coach in July 2006 but was sacked in December last year after the team failed to qualify for the Euro 2008 finals.

As a club coach he achieved his greatest success at Athletic Bilbao, steering the Basque side to the league title in 1983 and a league and cup double the following season.

His other clubs include Atletico Madrid, Espanyol, Real Sociedad, Real Betis and Olympique Marseille.

Clemente was expected to take control of the Iran national side but disagreed with the Asian side's federation over whether he could do his job from his home in the Basque region.

Iran insisted that he move permanently to Tehran but Clemente felt he could carry out his coaching duties from Europe, claiming he could watch Iranian league matches on video.

Reda Maher / Eurosport