• American departs after record of two wins, seven defeats and two draws • Club are second-bottom of Premier League, four points from safety

Swansea City are looking for their third manager of the season after Bob Bradley was dismissed only 85 days after taking over from Francesco Guidolin.

Bradley’s position became untenable after the crushing 4-1 home defeat against West Ham United on Boxing Day, with the woeful performance and toxic atmosphere inside the Liberty Stadium convincing the club’s American owners that they had to make a change to have any chance of avoiding relegation.

Swansea had been determined not to go down that path and wanted to give Bradley the January transfer window to strengthen the squad he inherited when he was appointed at the start of October.

Yet the West Ham defeat was viewed as a gamechanger within the club and the feeling afterwards was that Bradley’s relationship with the supporters was damaged to such an extent that he had reached the point of no return.

The American won only two of his 11 games in charge and suffered seven defeats, conceding 29 goals in the process, leaving Swansea second from bottom in the Premier League and four points adrift of safety. The sight of West Ham running riot on Boxing Day led to an outpouring of anger in the stands and prompted chants of “We want Bradley out”.

Swansea have no replacement lined up, unlike when Guidolin was dismissed as manager in October and Bradley was brought in on the same day. This time the club have decided to place Alan Curtis, the first-team coach, and Paul Williams, the assistant manager, in charge for the home game against Bournemouth on New Year’s Eve while they weigh up their next options.

Where exactly that managerial search will take Swansea remains unclear at the moment and it could well be that the club look to make a short-term appointment until the end of the season.

Alan Pardew, who was only recently sacked by Crystal Palace, may come under consideration, along with names like Frank de Boer, Gary Rowett, Roy Hodgson and Chris Coleman. Ryan Giggs was in the running when Bradley got the job, but it would be a surprise if Swansea revived their interest in the Welshman.

In a club statement, Huw Jenkins, the Swansea chairman, said: “We are sorry to lose Bob after such a short period of time. Unfortunately things haven’t worked out as planned and we felt we had to make the change with half the Premier League season remaining.

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“With the club going through such a tough time, we have to try and find the answers to get ourselves out of trouble. Personally, I have nothing but praise for Bob. He is a good man; a good person who gave everything to the job. His work-rate is phenomenal and we wish him well for the future.”

Brought in from Le Havre, in the French second division, Bradley knew from day one that he had a battle on his hands to convince many Swansea fans that he was the right man for the job. Rightly or wrongly, the fact that Bradley was the first American to manage in the Premier League raised doubts among some as to whether he was equipped to steer the club clear of the relegation zone – they were 17th when he supplanted Guidolin at the start of October.

Bradley constantly chopped and changed the team in search of a winning formula and there was hope that a corner may have been turned when Swansea defeated Sunderland 3-0 earlier in the month to briefly escape the bottom three. Yet three successive defeats, against West Brom, Middlesbrough and West Ham, left Swansea looking like a club sliding towards the Championship and Bradley was relieved of his duties as a result.