Ajax sack manager Maurice Steijn after poor start to season

The Dutch giants sit one point off the bottom of the table after just one win from their first seven games

EARLY EXIT: Maurice Steijn's time at Ajax has proven shortlived. Picture: Jeroen Putmans /ANP/AFP

Ajax have announced that manager Maurice Steijn has left the Eredivisie club with immediate effect.

Steijn's departure comes in the wake of a 4-3 defeat at Utrecht that left the Dutch giants sitting 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 club this summer after moving from Sparta Rotterdam, whom he led 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 loss at Utrecht was also temporarily suspended late on.

Hedwiges Maduro has been appointed in caretaker charge of the club, starting with Thursday's trip to Brighton in the Europa League.