Schlünz steps down at Hansa

Juri Schlünz has resigned as FC Hansa Rostock coach after the side's 6-0 defeat against Hamburger SV at the Ostseestadion on Sunday.

Long association
Schlünz, whose association with the club stretches back 36 years to when he joined their youth set-up as a child, steps down after just over a year at the helm. After replacing Armin Veh in October 2003, he took the club to ninth last season, but after the overwhelming loss against Hamburg consigned the team to their ninth defeat of the new campaign and left them firmly rooted to the bottom of the table, the 43-year-old has decided to part with the club.

'No potential replacement'
"I always had the full backing of the board and the fans and I didn't want to abuse that trust," Schlünz said. Hansa chairman Manfred Wimmer added: "We always trusted Juri and therefore we haven't talked about a potential replacement yet. We will have to make that decision quickly now."