(REUTERS) - Deportivo La Coruna have sacked coach Fernando Vazquez, prompting an angry outburst from the man who guided them to promotion back to the top flight last season.

"The board of directors of Deportivo has decided to dispense with the services of Fernando Vazquez as first-team trainer," the Spanish football club said in a brief statement on their website (www.canaldeportivo.com) on Tuesday.

Vazquez said he felt "betrayed" and that he believed he had earned the right to stay on as coach in La Liga next term, after helping Depor finish second in the second-division championship and earn automatic promotion in 2013-14.

Local media reported the board may have fired Vazquez over remarks he made that were perceived as criticism of the club.

"I am astonished, it's as if someone steals a chorizo (sausage) and gets sent to jail for 50 years," Vazquez told reporters. "Only those you think are your friends can betray you. Those who are not fail you, but friends betray you," added the 59-year-old. "When they told me I felt like someone was stabbing me."