The Spaniard’s spell at Hillsborough lasted just 93 days - over double that of Tony Pulis - and he leaves the club with only one victory to his name in a competitive fixture, a penalty shootout victory over Stockport County in the Carabao Cup.
It was a job that was always going to be tough as he replaced Darren Moore on the back of a record-breaking promotion-winning campaign in League One, and it became clear in his unveiling alongside Owls chairman, Dejphon Chansiri, that Wednesday aren’t like a lot of other clubs.
Defeat to West Bromwich Albion on Tuesday night proved to be the straw the broke the camel’s back as the club confirmed their worst ever start to a league campaign, and the following evening it was announced that he and his four-man technical team would be vacating with immediate effect.
We took a look back at some of the defining moments of a tough spell for a manager who was up against it from day one:
1. June 19th - Moore departs
A season of consolidation was expected for the Owls after the heroics of the previous campaign - Moore would be in charge, the changes would come, and many thought that they’d end up finishing around midtable. But then came the news - he was leaving, his team was leaving, and it became clear that it wouldn’t be a boring campaign after all.
2. July 4th - A car crash unveiling
It took a couple of weeks, but after numerous interviews took place it was decided that Spaniard, Xisco, would be taking over at the club... Instead of his unveiling being about him, though, it was taken over by a long and awkward rant from owner, Dejphon Chansiri, about Owls legend, Carlton Palmer. No doubt there were a few warning signs for the boss that day.
3. July 15th - An underprepared preseason begins
Wednesday flew out to Murcia - a camp not planned by the new manager - with a team largely made up of academy players due to the lack of transfer business. Reece James was the only ‘new’ signing, and there were changes galore across two games which saw them fail to score in either and concede four in the final one. They wouldn’t sign anybody else until July 24th.
4. August 12th - The Marvin Johnson saga kicks into gear
Such a big player in the previous two campaigns, Johnson was left out of Xisco’s first two matches - not even making it onto the bench in the Carabao Cup. After a 4-2 defeat to Hull City the boss said ‘maybe he can tell you’ when journalists questioned his whereabouts. It was a saga that would drag on for weeks and lead to involvement from the PFA and end with the Spaniard saying he didn’t know whether he was in Dubai or not after he was pictured out there. As things stand he remains the only senior player not registered by the club for this season.