UD Las Palmas have reached a deal with Pepe Mel for the rest of this season, making him the latest manager to take over the hot seat at the club. Mel has achieved two successful promotion seasons to the top flight with Real Betis. The first of these was back in the 2010/11 season, as they finished champions and top scorers in the second division. In the 2014/15 season he took over the same club again after 19 weeks of the season and took them back up to the first division, once again as champions.
In the 2012/13 season he got Betis into the UEFA Europa League when they finished 7th after the regular league season. Mel is the trainer to have managed Real Betis the most in the club’s history. In January 2014 he left for the Premier League with the aim of keeping West Bromwich Albion out of the relegation spots, which he achieved.
The last club he has managed was Deportivo de La Coruña. On 28th February 2017 he took over the side from Galicia and steered them to safety in the penultimate game of the season. The following season he was dismissed after nine games, with the side lying in 16th position in the league.
Mel has managed a series of football clubs during his career, including Mérida, Real Murcia, Getafe, Polideportivo Ejido, Deportivo Alavés, Rayo Vallecano (winning promotion for his side from Segunda ‘B’ to the second division in the 2007/08 season), and CD Tenerife. With the latter team he made his debut as first division manager in the 2001/02 season. He remained in the hot seat at the Heliodoro Rodríguez López stadium for 26 matches. That season UD Las Palmas and Tenerife faced each other for the first time in their history in the first division.
Pepe Mel is due to land in Gran Canaria tomorrow at 11.10, in a flight from Seville and will be unveiled as new manager at 12.30, in the press room at the Estadio Gran Canaria. He will be accompanied by his assistant manager, Roberto Ríos, and physio David Gómez.
The team has been called in to the Estadio Gran Canaria at 18.00 for a training session. On Sunday at 19.00 Canary time, UD Las Palmas travel to Riazor to play Deportivo.
