Balakhnin steps into Shevchenko's shoes

Sergey Balakhnin has replaced Vitali Shevchenko at the helm of Russian Premier League club FC Rostov.

'Time to resign'
Club chairman Ivan Savvidi made the appointment after Rostov were unexpectedly defeated 3-0 by FC Moskva in the first leg of the Russian Cup quarter-finals on Wednesday night. Shevchenko announced his departure after the game, saying: "My work is not going well. It's time to resign."

Slow start
Under Shevchenko, Rostov collected only three points from the first six matches of the new Russian league season and languish at the foot of the table. Balakhnin, who has already had one previous spell as coach of Rostov, will officially take charge on Friday, 24 hours before the match against SC Rotor Volgograd.