Leicester’s decision to fire Matt O’Connor one match into the Premiership season has been described as “grossly unfair” and part of “a disturbing trend” by the coaches’ union.

After firing O’Connor on Monday Leicester have appointed Geordan Murphy on an interim basis and it is believed the Irishman, who spent 16 years at the club as a player, will be given the opportunity to press his claims for the job permanently.

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On Tuesday the club captain, Tom Youngs, also endorsed Murphy, who joined the coaching staff in 2013, as the man to “patch up the old ship and get it going again”. But whoever lands the role will be Leicester’s fourth permanent director of rugby or coach in less than two years, with O’Connor following Aaron Mauger and Richard Cockerill through the door.

Last season Nick Kennedy, Jim Mallinder and John Kingston were relieved of their roles with London Irish, Northampton and Harlequins respectively, while Todd Blackadder will come under increased pressure should Bath lose to Gloucester on Saturday.

O’Connor is the first coach in Premiership history to be sacked after one match. “It is a concern,” the Rugby Coaches’ Association director, Richard Moon, said. “I looked at Leicester’s statement and they said the timing is right to make this change. After one game. Whatever has been going on up to that point it seems to me extremely unfair to judge a coach after one game. That’s a disturbing trend. It seems grossly unfair on the coach.

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“It is extremely concerning because the difficulty for the departing coach to try to obtain another role when the season has started makes it a double whammy. I fear it’s becoming a trend. It’s an inevitability about professional sport. There’s a football analogy because it seems to be coming into rugby union and I fear a trickle may become a torrent.

“Coaches are under immense pressure to deliver. It’s almost a 24/7 existence and it’s not only their livelihood they lose but it’s the impact on self-esteem. They are very much in the public eye. Support is absolutely vital for their wellbeing because they have to pick up the pieces.”

Murphy and Youngs acknowledged last season’s failure to guide Leicester to the play-offs for the first time in 14 campaigns was a key reason for O’Connor’s departure and, though the board opted against letting him go in May, last Saturday’s heavy defeat by Exeter proved his undoing.

Murphy will, in the short-term at least, be a popular appointment after his outstanding career with Leicester but he faces the immediate task of overcoming Newcastle, led by the former Leicester director of rugby, Dean Richards, on Saturday.

“I’ve known Matty for a long time. I consider him a friend. It is a situation that is not pleasurable,” Murphy said. “It’s a double-edged sword. Obviously a dream of mine would have been to be in this seat. It is a dream in that it is a club I love.”

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With Leicester in steady decline – the last of their 10 Premiership titles came in 2013 – there will be some clamour for a high-profile appointment such as Sir Clive Woodward or Martin Johnson. Mike Ford, father of the England and Leicester fly-half George, is also an obvious candidate to provide temporary assistance to what is now a threadbare coaching staff.

Youngs, though, is convinced Murphy is the man for the job. “If they were going to bring in just some random person, I’d feel a lot different about it,” he said. “Giving the role to Geordie, and supporting him, I think it’s the right choice.”