Amsterdam football club Ajax has sacked head coach Alfred Schreuder after a string of poor performances, culminating in a 1-1 against Volendam, who are currently 15^th in the Eredivisie, on Thursday night.

It was the seventh match in a row without a victory for the club, now languishing in fifth place in the Eredivisie and seven points behind leader Feyenoord.

The club also failed to move past the group phase in the Champions League under Schreuder’s leadership.

Schreuder was sacked immediately after the Volendam game. It was a ‘painful but necessary decision’ Ajax director Edwin van der Sar said. Assistant trainer Matthias Klatenbach is leaving the club as well.

Fans had expressed their anger during the match, some carrying banners calling for the coach to be sacked.

Van der Sar would not comment on who would be likely to replace Schreuder. ‘Tomorrow we will look at things calmly,’ he said.

Schreuder, 50, joined Ajax from Belgian club Brugge in the summer to replace Erik ten Hag after he moved to Manchester United.

Ajax captain Dusan Tadic told reporters that Schreuder had come into the changing rooms after the game. ‘He told us he feels responsible, asked us to stay together as a group, to give all we have for Ajax and he hoped we would be champions,’ Tadic said.

‘The squad is less good than in previous years, yes. And of course selling 13 players in the summer transfer season as too many,’ he said. ‘But it would be cowardly to point the finger at others. I am not playing well enough and I want to improve.  Everyone who wears the Ajax shirt must take that responsibility.‘