Salvador Gonzalez Marco 'Voro' has been handed the task of keeping Valencia in the Primera Liga after replacing Ronald Koeman as head coach.Voro, the former Valencia and Spain player who was working as the club's delegate, was handed the reins as part of a major overhaul taken by Los Che following a board meeting on Monday night.

The decision to part company with Koeman comes less than a week after he guided Valencia to the Copa del Rey title, with last Wednesday's 3-1 victory over Getafe earning Los Che their first piece of major silverware since winning the Primera Liga in 2004.

However, the Dutchman paid the penalty for his side's poor league form, with Valencia having won just four and lost 12 of 22 matches since he was brought in as the permanent replacement for Quique Sanchez Flores last November.

Sporting director Miguel Angel Ruiz and technical secretary Antonio Fernandez also agreed to mutual terminations of their contracts, while Koeman's assistant coaches are in the process of negotiating their departures.

Toni Bruins Slot, through his representative, has agreed to end his contract with the Primera Liga club, while the club are meeting with Jose Mari Bakero on Tuesday hoping for a similar outcome.

The shake-up comes after the struggling Spanish giants slipped closer to the Primera Liga relegation zone last weekend following a 5-1 defeat at Athletic Bilbao.

That was the fourth successive league defeat and left Valencia 15th in the standings, two points above third-bottom Recreativo Huelva with five games remaining.

Those five matches are against Osasuna, Barcelona, Real Zaragoza, Levante and Atletico Madrid.

Los Che have not finished outside the top 10 in the Primera Liga since the 1987/88 season, which was their first back in the top flight after winning the second division title the previous season.

The sacked Sanchez Flores left Valencia in fourth spot in La Liga, four points behind pacesetters Real Madrid, and Koeman's reign started promisingly with a 3-0 win over Real Murcia in his first league match.

But Valencia have struggled badly since and, as well as being knocked out of Europe in the group stages of the Champions League, they have now been sucked into the relegation dogfight.

One bright spot during Koeman's tenure was Valencia's success in the Copa del Rey, where they won seven of their nine games and knocked out the likes of Barcelona and Atletico Madrid en route to last week's win over Getafe.

Valencia's problems have not been restricted to just their results though, with Koeman courting controversy just before Christmas after telling experienced internationals David Albelda, Santiago Canizares and Miguel Angel Angulo they were not in his plans.

Valencia said that Koeman had reached an amicable agreement with the club over the termination of his contract.

Koeman was quoted as saying on the Valencia website: "I am going away proud of having obtained a very important title like the Copa del Rey and would like to stress, as they say in my country, that during my time in Valencia I have gained an experience but lost a dream."

Valencia have looked inside the club to replace the outgoing men, with Jose Manuel Ochotorena and Miguel Villagrasa forming part of the first-team technical team, Juan Sanchez becoming the new technical secretary and Jesus Paniagua taking Voro's old role as club delegate.

Voro has been given full control of the first team, suggesting recalls for outcast trio Albelda, Canizares and Angulo may be imminent.

In a statement to the media, Valencia spokesman Tarsilo Piles said: "Salvador Gonzalez 'Voro' has been named as

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