FC Dallas has relieved Steve Morrow of his duties as head coach, effective immediately, the team reported on its official blog. Marco Ferruzzi, in his fourth season as assistant coach, will coach the team on an interim basis.

“We have set high standards, expectations, and goals for this team and organization,” said FCD General Manager Michael Hitchcock. “I feel that the team was not heading in the direction we had planned, and believe it is in the best interest of the club to make a coaching change at this time.”

FC Dallas sits fourth in the Western Conference with a record of 2-3-3 (9 points). The team is riding a four game winless streak, and is 1-2-1 at Pizza Hut Park this year.

Morrow was introduced as the club’s fourth head coach on Dec. 11, 2006. In his first season as head coach, FC Dallas posted a 13-12-5 record (44 points) and finished in third place in the Western Conference. The team advanced to the 2007 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup championship game for the third time in team history, falling 3-2 to the New England Revolution at Pizza Hut Park. FC Dallas advanced to the MLS Cup Playoffs for a league-record tying 10th time in history, but was eliminated in the conference semifinals by eventual MLS Cup champions Houston Dynamo.

A Northern Ireland native, Morrow joined Arsenal London in 1987 as a 17-year old. He had a decade long career with Gunners, though he was loaned out a handful of times. He left the club in 1997 for Queens Park Rangers and played the final two years of his professional career with Dallas. During the 2002 and 2003 seasons, he scored three goals in 41 career regular season games and once in three playoff matches, playing primarily as a center back. Morrow has 39 caps for Northern Ireland.