Galatasaray coach Mustafa Denizli

Galatasaray coach Mustafa Denizli has decided to resign from his role on Monday, after a three-month spell with the club, Reuters reported a source close to the matter on Monday.

The Istanbul Lions have struggled this season. They lost 2-0 to Gaziantepspor at the weekend – their third defeat from their previous five games – and currently ranks fifth in the Super Lig, 14 points behind leaders Besiktas.

Gala were also knocked out from the Europa League by Lazio on Thursday, falling to a 4-2 aggregate defeat.

The club had no comment on the report.

Denizli has subsequently taken the decision to step down from his current role, becoming the second manager to leave the club in the 2015-16 season.

Denizli took charge at the club in November after former coach Hamza Hamzaoglu stayed less than a year at the helm.

The coach did not train the team at a training session earlier on Monday.

It has been reported that Denizli will meet with Galatasaray chairman Dursun Ozbek later on Monday to formally announce his resignation. Some are worried whether a replacement will be in place in time for Wednesday’s Turkish Cup quarter-final meeting with Akhisar.

Denizli, 66, managed the Turkish national team for four years and reached the quarter-finals of Euro 2000. He earned three domestic league titles with Istanbul’s three arch-rivals — Galatasaray, Fenerbahce and Besiktas.

The Turkish giant Galatasaray may face a ban from Europe’s ruling body UEFA later this week over its failure in following the financial fair play regulations.

UEFA said last month the Lions had failed to comply with its rules governing the allowable level of financial losses, ushering in a potential ban from European competition from UEFA’s Club Financial Control Body (CFCB).