Bottom side Nuremberg fire sports director and coach

Berlin (AFP) – Bundesliga bottom side Nuremberg took the drastic step on Tuesday of sacking both sports director Andreas Bornemann and head coach Michael Koellner.

With the club winless in their last 15 league games, the decision was taken in Monday night’s crisis meeting.

Ex-Slovakia international Marek Mintal, 41, who made more than 200 appearances for Nuremberg, and assistant coach Boris Schommers have been put in temporary charge for next Monday’s visit of Bundesliga leaders Borussia Dortmund.

Last Saturday’s 2-0 defeat in the basement battle at Hanover 96 – who are 17th, just one place above Nuremberg – was the final straw for Bornemann and Koellner.

“We couldn’t just say, ‘we’ll keep going’,” said board spokesman Thomas Grethlein.

“We had to create a new impulse.”

Bornemann sealed his fate as he stood by Koellner, which expired the board’s patience, “he bound his fate with that of the coach,” admitted Grethlein.

The chances of Nuremberg avoiding relegation are slight as they sit six points from safety with 13 games left.

Koellner is the fourth Bundesliga coach relieved of his duties this season after Tayfun Korkut was sacked by Stuttgart last October, Heiko Herrlich left Leverkusen in December and Hanover 96 dismissed Andre Breitenreiter last month.