Unirea Slobozia, promoted to the Romanian Superliga just two seasons ago, has been relegated back to Liga 2 after only one season in the top flight. The team's fate was sealed with a loss to UTA Arad, and coach Claudiu Niculescu has announced his departure from the club.

Promoted to the first division in 2022, Unirea Slobozia has returned to Liga 2 alongside Metaloglobul. The other newly promoted teams, FC Argeș and FK Csikszereda, had much better seasons. Trivale’s team made it to the playoffs, while the team from Miercurea Ciuc secured 17 points in the relegation round.

After the home loss to UTA, Claudiu Niculescu, Slobozia’s coach, announced his departure, citing the end of his contract with Unirea Slobozia. “It’s sad because I expected a different result, but it’s been a very tough week. I don’t want anyone to think I’m looking for excuses, God forbid!” he said.

“You know that rumors and information about us playing our final match against UTA in vain began to circulate. These probably affected the players. In the future, we might work together again. I want to thank the club’s leadership for giving me the chance to return to the first league, and I did everything within my power.”

“I will certainly analyze everything that happened during this period; we have to move forward. I am sorry for the club and the fans, but life must go on. I don’t regret going to Slobozia. I thanked the leadership for this opportunity. I hoped from the first day, but it didn’t work out.”

“It’s very tempting for any coach to come to the first league. The team has been relegated, and we have to take responsibility. I was challenged (if I expected a result in Sibiu to help Unirea). No, we depended on ourselves. Unfortunately, we failed. The pressure showed. We were afraid; this week was the toughest since I arrived here. Almost daily, information came that we couldn’t play the relegation match.”

“The players' minds were probably elsewhere. They have friends at other teams, and we were all told the same thing: we were playing the final stage in vain. We haven’t discussed this yet. Certainly, the club’s leadership will have to make some calculations. Financially, it will be a setback, as it is for any team that gets relegated. At the moment, my contract ends. It would have been extended automatically if we had managed to stay in the league. But I am open to discussions. I haven’t had any talks with other clubs. We will see; all clubs are making calculations for the next season. We have to be men in the end; it’s painful, it’s a sad night,” Claudiu Niculescu declared, according to DigiSport.