Relegation-threatened Augsburg dismiss head coach Martin Schmidt

Augsburg and head coach Martin Schmidt have gone their separate ways, following a run of one win in eight Bundesliga matches.

Schmidt heads for the exit door, with Augsburg only five points clear of the relegation play-off place heading into the final nine matches of the 2019/20 campaign. The 52-year-old spent less than a year in charge of first-team affairs.

"It wasn't easy to come to this decision, but a return of four points from our last nine matches led us to make the change," explained Augsburg sporting director Stefan Reuter. "There will always be difficult phases to overcome, but we see our top-flight status as being in danger as things stand, so that's why we've come to the decision."

Schmidt, who previously coached Mainz and Wolfsburg, took over at Augsburg in April 2019. They were perched just four points above the bottom three at the time, but won their first two league matches with Schmidt at the helm and successfully secured a ninth consecutive season of Bundesliga football with two games to spare.

Despite recording only one win in their first 10 outings of 2019/20, a run of six victories and a draw between Matchdays 11 and 17 propelled Augsburg up to 10th in the standings. Four points from a possible 27 since, however, have the Bavarians looking nervously over their shoulders once again. Sunday's 2-0 defeat away to leaders Bayern Munich was their third loss in a row, and 12th of the current campaign.

Augsburg begin life after Schmidt with a home game against the Swiss tactician's former employers, Wolfsburg, on Matchday 26.

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