Ex-Leeds United man Victor Orta acknowledges 'difficult' Sevilla period as he could be forced to admit mistake

Former Leeds United director of football Victor Orta has admitted he could be forced to sack a second manager at Sevilla this season if results don't improve following 'some very difficult weeks' at the Spanish club.

The La Liga outfit are already out of the Champions League as they sit bottom of their group with two points from five games. A trip to French club Lens awaits in their final group game, with victory needed to finish third and extend their European season in the Europa League.

Sevilla qualified for the Champions League after winning the Europa League for a record-breaking seventh time last season. Jose Luis Mendilibar guided Sevilla to the triumph but lasted just eight games this term before he was sacked by Orta and replaced by Diego Alonso.

However, Alonso has earned just five points from his first seven games and Orta has admitted to Spanish media he could be forced to part ways with the coach he appointed just a couple of months ago, if results continue on a downward slope.

He said: "You can't be in the profession just for the beautiful. It's hard, but the results are what mark everything. How many defeats do you have to credit? It depends on how those defeats can come, with what image. There is nothing mathematical. I want to cling to the optimism of ending this bad streak, because neither the bad nor the good last forever."

He admitted the club were "going through some very difficult weeks" as Sevilla seek to turn their season around. He added: "We are all angry that football is not being fair to us. Bad results are a reality and we should not hide them, but rather analyse them. But we professionals have to analyse what is behind it. I don't want to ask for more patience, we have to win games starting today, but I see an evolution, that the players believe, that we have had good minutes of football lately in the coach's idea, but the results are not coming."

Orta has come under fire from some sections of the Spanish media, with one report claiming he is "struggling desperately to fill" the sporting director role while his summer transfer business was classed as "underwhelming". The Spaniard was the subject of much criticism in his final months at Leeds as the club battled against relegation. He left before the Whites' demotion was officially confirmed.

Reflecting on his time at Elland Road, he said in the summer: “I had a very satisfactory time there, taking a team which had been 16 years in the lower divisions, as a foreigner in England, where they demand double of you. I managed a Premier League budget, all that means, managed the club as a director general, always aiming for the best for the team.

“It was a very important part of my life, with some very good moments, and the bad moments are forgotten. I forgot about that the day the door closed, just wanted to remember the good times I had there."