Alaves have announced that Abelardo Fernandez has returned to the club as head coach, following the sacking of Pablo Machin.

The Asturian, who was previously in charge of Alaves between 2017 and 2019, has penned a deal until the end of the season.

Abelardo's last job in management came at Espanyol, as he took charge of the Catalan club in December 2019. However, he was unable to steer Espanyol away from the relegation zone prior to being dismissed with seven games to go.

Alaves are currently 16th in the LaLiga Santander table, having picked up 18 points from their opening 18 games, but they are just two points ahead of 18th-placed Elche, who have two games in hand over the side from Vitoria.