Mallorca dismiss coach Krauss

RCD Mallorca have dismissed coach Bernd Krauss following their 4-0 humbling at home to FC Schalke 04 in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday night.

Press conference
Mallorca's president, Mateo Alemany, confirmed Krauss's dismissal at a press conference at the club's training ground on Wednesday afternoon, where he said he expected to announce a successor within 24 hours.

'Two possible candidates'
There are two candidates for the post: UD Las Palmas coach Sergio Kresic and Marcos Alonso, formerly in charge of Racing Santander. "Whoever gets the job, it has to be a person who knows Spanish football," Alemany said. "There are two possible candidates who have the right credentials we are considering."

Loss of confidence
Speaking of the decision to change managers, Alemany thanked Krauss "for the job he did" but added: "The team lost confidence in him. From now on I am going to make a point of standing up to those who are trying to destabilise the club."

Under fire
Krauss, the 44-year-old former Real Sociedad and BV Borussia Dortmund coach, had come under fire in the Spanish media following an interview in German magazine Kicker in which he claimed that his tenure as Mallorca coach might not last until next year.

'Never be certain'
Krauss, who only took over from Luis Aragones in June, insisted that he was merely stating the obvious, bearing in mind the nature of football. "They asked me if I would still be here at Christmas and I told them I did not know," said Krauss. "You can never be certain about anything in football."

Pressure intensified
More damaging was Mallorca's terrible start to their Primera División campaign which has brought them just five points from eight games. Alemany cranked up the pressure last week when he said Saturday's trip to Sevilla FC, a game which ended in a 2-2 draw, was "vital for the club's future".

Saving grace
The German's saving grace appeared to be the islanders' European form, with Mallorca recording fine victories over Arsenal FC and Schalke in two of their opening three Champions League matches. Victory over the German side at the Son Moix stadium on Tuesday would have seen Mallorca move level with the group leaders, Panathinaikos FC, on nine points.

Action-packed half
However, their lofty ambitions were ended in 30 crazy first-half minutes as Schalke struck twice through Nico van Hoogdalem and a Tomasz Hajto penalty in the first 20 minutes and Samuel Eto'o was sent off for dissent. A deflected Gerald Asamoah strike and a fourth from Ebbe Sand completed the rout to leave the home support calling for the coach's head.

'This is a crisis'
The writing was on the wall when Alemany admitted afterwards that Mallorca had reached 'crisis' point. He said: "It is a sad day, we have not achieved our objective. This is a crisis and I recognise that. Our form does not measure up to the investment in the team and the supporters deserve better. We are all upset. We've got to get over this as quickly as possible."

Two games left
Schalke's impressive win has really opened up the group, with Panathinaikos still top with nine points, despite their 2-1 defeat against Arsenal. The London club are level with Mallorca on six points, although the Spaniards are second due to their head-to-head record with Arsenal. Schalke remain bottom with three points. With two games left to play, all of the four sides retain a chance of qualification.