Schalke sack Gross in major clear out
Berlin, Germany - Bundesliga crisis club Schalke sacked almost their entire sporting leadership on Sunday, including coach Christian Gross, after an alleged player revolt and a 16th league defeat plunged their nightmare season deeper into crisis.
"The decision had become unavoidable after results against Dortmund and Stuttgart," said Schalke chairman Jens Buchta in a statement following Schalke's 5-1 loss to Stuttgart on Saturday, a week after defeat to local rivals Borussia Dortmund.
"The team now owe it to the club and the fans to be as successful as possible in the last third of the season."
Coach Gross, sporting director Jochen Schneider and team coordinator Sascha Riether were all relieved of their duties in Sunday's mass clear out.
Gross' assistant Rainer Widmayer and fitness coach Werner Leuthard were also fired. The move comes with Schalke bottom of the league and nine points adrift of safety, having won just one of their 23 league games this season.
Having been in the Champions League two seasons ago, Schalke are now hurtling towards their first relegation since 1988.
Veteran Swiss Gross, 66, had been in the job for only two months, having taken over from interim boss Huub Stevens at the end of December. Victory in his second game in charge saw Schalke narrowly avoid equalling a 54 year old Bundesliga record of 31 games without a win, but Gross was unable to stop the rot.
OTHER RESULTS
Sunday: Union Berlin 1 Hoffenheim 1, Mainz 0 Augsburg 1; Saturday: Borussia Dortmund 3 Arminia Bielefeld 0, Wolfsburg 2 Hertha Berlin 0, Stuttgart 5 Schalke 1, RB Leipzig 3 Borussia Moenchengladbach 2.