Magdeburg releases coach Fiedler - interim duo takes over

On Tuesday there was still a vote of confidence, but after the test match debacle two days later, Markus Fiedler has now been dismissed as coach of second-division soccer club 1. FC Magdeburg. The U-23 coaching duo Petrik Sander and Pascal Ibold, together with assistant coach Silvio Bankert and the rest of the coaching staff, will take over on an interim basis and prepare the team for the second division match at SV Darmstadt 98 on Sunday (1.30pm/Sky).

"As announced, we have carried out an in-depth analysis over the past week and have come to the conclusion that the team no longer has confidence in Markus or hope of a turnaround," said FCM sporting director Otmar Schork. After the disastrous 0:6 in the test match against league rivals Eintracht Braunschweig and the previous 0:4 against SV Elversberg, there was a sense of helplessness, explained the 68-year-old.

Despite six defeats in a row, Schork still backed the coach on Tuesday, whom he himself had brought in as successor to Christian Titz in the summer. At the same time, the manager emphasized that there was "no deadline". This has now come sooner than expected. The club is currently in talks to present a successor, the statement continued.

Magdeburg with the weakest defense in the league

The FCM, who fought for promotion to the first division with Christian Titz in the previous season, has the weakest defense in the league with 19 goals conceded. In offense, the team at the bottom of the table recently failed to score for the fifth time.

For Schork, who had postponed his planned vacation for a few days during the international break, it was important to "sleep on it for two nights" after the home defeat. Together with Fiedler, he then wanted to analyze the situation during the international break, but had certainly thought about whether a change of coach made sense. "That's my job," he emphasized on Tuesday.

Difficult summer of transfers as core problem

The team is still waiting for its first home win. Schork sees the causes in the past transfer window. They were also unable to react to the late sale of goalscorer Martijn Kaars to FC St. Pauli.