Bergkamp banished in Ajax shakeup

THE HAGUE - Ajax sacked coach Marcel Keizer and his assistants Dennis Bergkamp and Hennie Spijkerman on Thursday, a day after the Amsterdam club was bundled out of the Dutch Cup.

"The club management does not have the requisite confidence that our ambitions will be realized under them," Ajax said in a statement, adding that poor results were behind the decision to dispense with Keizer and veteran assistant Spijkerman.

There was also a difference of opinion with former Arsenal great Bergkamp, an Ajax icon from his playing days, over the club's technical direction, the statement added.

Four-time European champion Ajax was dumped out of the cup on penalties to Twente Enschede on Wednesday after conceding a stoppage-time equalizer.

Ajax is second in the Eredivisie league standings, five points behind PSV Eindhoven, which it beat 3-0 on Dec 10.

At the start of the season, Ajax lost in the Champions League preliminary qualifying round to Nice of France before dropping into the Europa League playoff round where it was beaten by Rosenborg of Norway.

Ajax lost to Manchester United in the Europa League final last term.

"We had a horrible summer and poor start to the season," said Ajax general director Edwin van der Sar on the club's website.

"The elimination from European competition was the lowest point and with (technical director) Marc Overmars we have had many discussions in recent months over the ongoing ability of our first team.

"We do not have the confidence that we will reach the levels we seek in the manner in which we have been proceeding."

Keizer, 48, was promoted from the Ajax reserve side, which competes in the Dutch second division, to take over from Peter Bosz, when the latter left to join Borussia Dortmund in the offseason.

Keizer's tenure got off to a traumatic start when midfielder Abdelhak Nouri collapsed in a preseason friendly, suffering a cardiac arrest that left him with permanent brain damage.

The club's youthful team has since battled to come to terms with the July incident.

Reuters