Ajax have sacked their manager just days before the Dutch side face Brighton and Hove Albion at the Amex in the Europa League.
The Eredivisie club said today that Maurice Steijn, 49, had left with immediate effect.
Steijn’s departure comes after a 4-3 defeat at fellow strugglers Utrecht which left the Dutch giants one point off the bottom of the table with just one win from their first seven games.
Steijn signed a three-year contract with the Amsterdam club this summer after moving from Sparta Rotterdam, having led them to a shock sixth-placed finish last season.
Ajax chief executive Jan van Halst said: “We have worked intensely and professionally together over the last few months.
“But the sportive successes and the development of the team were lacking. That is why we decided to sit down together again today.
“This time, Maurice also expressed his concerns on whether he was the right man in the right place. Together, we decided that it would be best to part ways.”
Ajax have been hit by crowd trouble this season with their derby against Feyenoord forced to finish behind closed doors while their defeat at Utrecht was also temporarily suspended late on.
Hedwiges Maduro, 38, has been appointed in caretaker charge of the club, starting with the trip to Brighton in the Europa League on Thursday.
Ajax have two points from their opening two Europa League matches against Marseille and AEK Athens – one more than Albion.
The Ajax squad includes 28-year-old Chuba Akpom who had a brief loan spell with Brighton six years ago as they won promotion to the Premier League.
