FC Tokyo dismissed manager Yoshiyuki Shinoda on grounds of the team’s poor performance with immediate effect, the J. League first-division club said on Sunday.

Assistant Takayoshi Anma, who has been with the club since 2015, was named caretaker. Reportedly for next season, Tokyo is chasing former Sanfrecce Hiroshima coach Hajime Moriyasu, who won the league three times in a four-year span from 2012-2015.

Tokyo is currently 10th in the 18-team standings, 22 points behind first-place Kashima Antlers with nine games left in the season. On Saturday, it lost 4-1 at home to Cerezo Osaka, its fifth consecutive loss across all competitions.

Shinoda, 46, was promoted to manager in July last year. Tokyo spent heavily for this season, signing two-time World Cup striker Yoshito Okubo, Nigerian international Peter Utaka and former Japan forward Kensuke Nagai.

“I am deeply sorry to all FC Tokyo fans and everyone associated with the club for not being able to meet expectations,” Shinoda said in a statement released by the team.