The Montreal Impact fired head coach Remi Gard and appointed former Houston Dynamo boss Wilmer Cabrera to take his place, the club announced on Wednesday.

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"Because I have so much respect for Remi as a person and as a professional, it was a very difficult decision to make and it was well thought, but our latest series of failures in the past couple of months and the way the team acts on the field led to that change," said Impact president Kevin Gilmore in a club statement.

"We hope to bring back confidence to this group of players for the last stretch of the season, to get a playoff spot and to perform in the Canadian Championship final. I would like to sincerely thank Remi Garde for his commitment and his professionalism with our club since he joined in November 2017. I wish him only but the best in the future."

Gard, 53, joined the Impact at the start of the 2018 campaign after a brief stint at Aston Villa. He failed to guide the club to the playoffs in his inaugural season and leaves Montreal with the team clinging to the final postseason place in the Eastern Conference, having won just one of their last eight league matches.

Cabrera, 51, was dismissed by the Dynamo last week after two-and-a-half years with the club.

Montreal assistants Wilfried Nancy and Remy Vercoutre have been retained by the club and will serve on Cabrera's staff.