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MONTREAL -- It will be up to Frank Klopas to salvage something from an all-but lost 2014 season and try to build the Montreal Impact into a winning team. Club president Joey Saputo removed his friend and long-time Impact player, coach and manager Nick De Santis from his job as sporting director on Wednesday and handed control of the Major League Soccer team to Klopas, the head coach and director of player personnel. "Nick will have an administrative role, but will not be involved in the management of the technical team," said Saputo. Pressure from fans and the media had been building since the end of last season to replace De Santis, who seemed to be out of answers for a free fall that began with a 1-6-1 finish to the 2013 regular season and a 3-12-5 start to the 2014 campaign. De Santiss failure to make off-season changes other than replacing coach Marco Schallibaum with Klopas was his undoing, as the same weaknesses on defence and in the midfield that were exposed late last summer carried into this season. Now Klopas will have full control to decide who will play and who will sit out, and what trades or signings will be made. "He will have the responsibility to tweak this team according to what he feels he needs to be more competitive for the remainder of this season, the 2014 CONCACAF champions league and the 2015 season," said Saputo. The Impact have already made a handful of player moves since April, shipping out defender Jeb Brovsky, midfielders Collen Warner and Sanna Nyassi and forward Andrew Wenger. Midfielder Hernan Bernardello left in midseason to sign with a Mexican club. None of the moves made much difference as the Impact, now on a five-game losing run, sank further into the MLS basement. Saputo hopes to eliminate confusion over who is in charge, particularly among the players brought in by De Santis and those acquired by Klopas. "I want the message passed to the players that the person on top is Frank Klopas and not Nick De Santis. Its Frank who is the players boss," he said. Klopas is the Impacts third head coach in as many seasons in MLS, following Jesse Marsch for the expansion season in 2012 and Schallibaum last year. Saputo said he has assured Klopas, who signed in December for two years plus an option year, that he will have his job at least until the end of the 2015 campaign. "He has the security regardless of what happens this year, so if Frank decides tomorrow that he wants to start playing some of the younger players, I give him full responsibility, knowing that his job is not on the line," said Saputo. "Its obvious we need to change." The 47-year-old Klopas has extensive MLS experience as a player and as a former technical director and head coach of the Chicago Fire. It was De Santis who pushed for him to be hired. While reaching the MLS playoffs will be a long shot with only 14 regular season games left to play, the Impact can save face with a strong showing in the Champions League. They begin CONCACAF play Tuesday at home against FAS of El Salvador. One of the clubs high points came in 2009 when they drew more than 50,000 fans to Olympic Stadium for a quarter-final against Santos Laguna of Mexico. They also expect to have a second designated player, Argentine midfielder Ignacio Piatti, in camp starting next week. More player signings, although not a new DP, are planned for the off-season. Saputo did not say what De Santiss new duties will be. Montreal native De Santis has been part of the Impact since the team was formed from the ashes of the defunct Montreal Supra in 1993. The 46-year-old won an APSL championship as a player in 1994, won the A-League title as coach in 2004 and got a USL First Division championship as a manager in 2009. "He was a key element and architect of this organization and one of the reasons we are in MLS today," Saputo said of De Santis. "He is a friend, however, we are in a results-driven business and unfortunately, since July 2013, our results have not been what we expected them to be and hes paying the price for it." The Impacts next game is at home Saturday against Toronto FC. Custom Philadelphia Eagles Jerseys . Still, its a start. Josh Baileys goal with 1:40 left capped a furious third-period rally, and the Islanders edged the Penguins 4-3 on Friday night. Avonte Maddox Jersey . -- Jay Haas and Peter Jacobsen took the second-round lead Saturday in the Champions Tours Legends of Golf, teaming for a 6-under 48 in windy conditions on the par-3 Top of the Rock course. http://www.eaglesfansproshop.com/Eagles+...y.html?cat=1349. -- Jerome Verrier scored once and set up two more as the Drummondville Voltigeurs downed the visiting Chicoutimi Sagueneens 5-1 on Friday in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League play. Haloti Ngata Jersey .Y. -- Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire will have less time to remain eligible for the Hall of Fame ballot under changes made Saturday. Dallas Goedert Jersey . - The Denver Broncos kept rookie wide receiver Tavarres King from joining the Green Bay Packers by promoting him to their active roster Tuesday. TORONTO -- Its a secret Hayley Wickenheiser could no longer hide. The Canadian womens hockey star helped Canada win gold at the Sochi Olympics despite playing with a broken foot. The 35-year-old native of Shaunavon, Sask., was sporting a walking boot on her left foot at the Hockey Hall of Fame on Tuesday, where she was a guest speaker at the second annual Gatorade High Performance Hockey Summit. "Ive had a broken foot for about a year now so Im trying to fix it," Wickenheiser said. "Im wearing this boot so I can avoid having that surgery, hopefully. "I knew it was broken at the time (of Olympics), we just found out it was a little more serious break than we thought. It was just managing the pain." Wickenheiser did a masterful job of hiding the injury. There was never a hint or mention of it prior to the Sochi Games or even after Canadas dramatic come-from-behind 3-2 overtime victory over the U.S. in the gold medal game. But in an Olympic year Wickenheiser simply didnt have the luxury of time to rest her foot, so she worked around it. With the national teams season over, shes had her foot in the boot for the last two weeks, with six more to go. "After the Olympics . . . its kind of perfect timing to rest the foot and just be able to get healthy again," she said. "I spent a lot of time on the bike versus running and did some work around trying to stabilize the foot. "My medical team was really good with treatments to keep the swelling down. I just did a lot of things on one leg and tried to minimize the pounding on my foot in order to be able to get through the games. Now Ive had the chance to see where the damage is and with a couple of months rest I should be fine. I wasnt able to rest it before." This isnt the first time Wickenheiser has endured pain. She played in the 2006 Olympics with a broken wrist but was still the tournaments top scorer and MVP. In 2008, Sports Illustrated included Wickenheiser on its list of the 25 toughest athletes. Ironically, skating wasnt painful for Wickenheiser because of the support the skate boot provided her injured foot. "It wasnt too bad," she said. "But the running and training we had to adjust." Wickenheiser had two goals and three assists in five games at Sochi but played a huge role in Canadas overtime victory in the gold medal game. Wickenheiser had a breakaway in the extra session but was taken down by American Hilary Knight. Instead of granting Wickenheiser a penalty shot, British referee Joy Tottman gave Knight a minor penalty. Marie-Philip Poulin, who forced overtime by scoring with 55 seconds remaining in regulation, had the power-play winner to give Canada its stirring comeback victory and fourth straight Olympic womens hockey crown. "It was a dramatic finish, probably one for the ages and something Canadians will never forget," Wickenheiser said. "I wont forget. "It mightve been the defining moment of the Games this go-around from what everybody has been telling me. When you step back and hear the stories about how it impacted Canada, it really was one for the ages." The Olympic ggold medal capped a tumultuous period for the Canadian team, which entered the Sochi Games with a new coach -- Kevin Dineen took over in December after Dan Church resigned -- and having lost four pre-tournament games to the rival Americans.dddddddddddd "It was a lot of adversity," Wickenheiser said. "Our theme changed from, Dig a little deeper, to Unity and adversity. I think that sums it up. "We had a lot of things to overcome as a team and I think the reason behind our success was we had resiliency and we had a lot of preparation leading up to that which gave us the opportunity to come back in that final game. We were mentally tougher than our opponent." Three days later, the Canadian men capped a hockey sweep, downing Sweden 3-0 in a gold-medal game that had nowhere the drama or intrigue of the womens finale. "I think theres no doubt were the best in the world in mens and womens hockey," Wickenheiser said. "People say, The mens was boring, but it was boring (because) they were so good and so prepared and they played unselfishly unlike other countries with superstars so they found a way to do it. "I think thats really the defining mark of Canadian hockey." And call Wickenheiser, Canadas flag-bearer at the opening ceremony in Sochi, a fan of hockey being played on the larger international ice surface. "I love it," she said. "For me, Id love to see the NHL on the bigger surface. "I think it would be amazing, I think it would be better hockey. Theres the talk that the trap would be easier to play on the big surface but I dont think so. I think it allows skill and speed to flourish." Wickenheiser has won five Olympic medals over her illustrious career (the other being silver from the 98 Nagano Games). Shed like a shot at another while again shouldering the heavy weight of expectation Canadians have for their hockey players when on the international stage. "I think its fair," Wickenheiser said of Canadians expectations. "We always say pressure is a privilege and you have an opportunity to win a gold medal because people think you can. "Id rather have that expectation than someone not believing in you or the country not expecting the best. We view it that we go to win gold medals and we know Canada expects that. Its fun to have that, you dont want it any other way, really, as an athlete." However, Wickenheiser, who last month was elected to the International Olympic Committees athlete commission, added at this stage of her career shes taking it one year at a time. "Ill probably go year by year, starting with next years world championship," she said. "I still love to play, I think I can still play at a high level and be the player I want to be so until I cant do that anymore Ill keep playing. "I love what I do for a living. Being an athlete is definitely the greatest thing about what I do. I dont know if theres anything Ill find after sport that will mimic what being an athlete is so you have to enjoy it while it lasts and try to remember you may never have these times again in your life." ' ' '