Porto, without a title in three years, have released coach Jose Peseiro after a string of poor results, the Portuguese club said Monday.

Peseiro arrived in Porto in January from Egyptian outfit Al-Ahly to take over from Spaniard Julen Lopetegui.

But the 56-year-old Portuguese coach was unable to turn around a season that saw Porto eliminated by Chelsea in the Champions League before a third-place league finish behind Lisbon-based rivals Benfica and Sporting.

The club will now have to play preliminary qualifying matches if they are to advance to the pool stages of next season's Champions League.

Porto wrapped up their season in the worst possible way by losing the Cup final to Sporting Braga, who finished fourth in the league.

According to media reports, Portuguese Nuno Espirito Santo, who coached La Liga side Valencia between July 2014-November 2015, will likely take over at Porto, where he finished his career as a goalkeeper between 2007-10.

Having led Valencia to fourth place in La Liga, ensuring a Champions League spot, the 42-year-old Espirito Santo left Spain after a disappointing start to the following season.