Mariner out, Nelsen in as head coach

Toronto FC have fired coach Paul Mariner and will unveil his replacement Ryan Nelsen at a news conference Tuesday.

The move comes a month after Kevin Payne was hired as TFC’s new president and GM.

Mariner was named coach of the Reds in June when the team started off 1-9-0. He had solid initial success before a spate of injuries to key players and a string of late-game collapses led to a club-record 14-game winless streak to end 2012.

Nelsen, 35, plays for Queens Park Rangers and had been linked with a coaching role at former club DC United in the United States.

“He is a massive part of your team (but) he wants to be a manager and it is a chance for him to manage a club," QPR manager Harry Redknapp told reporters this week.

“He has been fantastic. I took him to Tottenham last year from Blackburn. He’s one of the best pros I’ve ever met in my life, a fantastic player, a great trainer, a leader," he said.