Ajax Amsterdam have sacked coach John Heitinga following a poor start to the season that included four successive heavy defeats in the Champions League, with Fred Grim handed the reins on a temporary basis, the club announced on Thursday.

Assistant coach Marcel Keizer will also depart, while technical director Alex Kroes said he would give up his role before the expiry of his contract at the end of the season if the club found a suitable replacement.

Ajax have won five of their 11 Eredivisie matches this campaign and lie fourth in the table but sit bottom of the standings in the Champions League in what has been a chaotic first few months of the season.

"It's a painful decision," Kroes told the club’s website. "But looking back at the past few months, we must conclude that things have t

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