After a string of disappointing results, Alfred Schreuder was fired as head coach of Ajax.
After Erik ten Hag left for Manchester United at the end of the previous campaign, Schreuder took over as the team’s manager. At first, Schreuder seemed to fit in well in Amsterdam, winning his first six league games and hammering Rangers 4-0 in Ajax’s opening Champions League match of the year.
However, the Eredivisie’s form also suffered greatly as a result of their elimination from the Champions League group stage; they had not won a league match since October, even though that time period also included a break for the 2022 World Cup.
Ajax stelt Alfred Schreuder op non-actief.
— AFC Ajax (@AFCAjax) January 26, 2023
The club opted to take action following Thursday’s 1-1 home draw with struggling Volendam after failing to win any of their previous seven Eredivisie games (D6 L1), putting them fifth in the standings, seven points behind leaders Feyenoord.
The current winless streak is Ajax’s joint-longest in Eredivisie history (also seven in 1962, 1964 and 1965).
A statement from the Dutch giants read: “The many points lost and the team’s lack of development are the main reasons for this decision.
“The club management no longer has confidence in further cooperation.”
Matthias Kaltenbach, an assistant coach, was also fired, according to Ajax.
The club’s chief executive Edwin van der Sar added: “It is a painful decision, but also a necessary one.
“After a good start to the season, we then lost an unnecessary number of points… In recent weeks it became increasingly clear that [Schreuder] could not turn the tide, while we believe that despite the many transfers he had a strong and championship worthy squad at his disposal.
“We have also lost a lot of points in recent weeks and unfortunately we did not see any progress.”