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Werder Bremen fires coach Viktor Skripnik after losing start

BREMEN, Germany (AP) - Werder Bremen sacked Viktor Skripnik as coach on Sunday after the team started the season with four straight defeats, ending his 20-year association with the club.

Under-23 coach Alexander Nouri was to take over Monday on an interim basis for the home league games against Mainz and Wolfsburg, assisted by Florian Bruns.

The Bundesliga club also dismissed Skripnik's assistants Florian Kohfeldt and Torsten Frings with immediate effect.

"We decided for this step because we weren't convinced after the performance in 'Gladbach that the turnaround could be achieved quickly in the current constellation," Bremen sporting director Frank Baumann said. "We want to thank Viktor and his assistant coaches for their work in the past years."

Bremen lost 4-1 at Borussia Moenchengladbach to start the league season with three straight defeats on Saturday, while it was also knocked out in the first round of the German Cup by third-division side Sportfreunde Lotte.

Skripnik, a former Ukraine defender, joined Bremen as a player in 1996, won the double in 2004 when he retired and began coaching in the club's youth setup. He took over the top job in October 2014.

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