Wolfsburg have sacked head coach Niko Kovac after a third straight defeat left the club struggling at the wrong end of the Bundesliga table.

The 52-year-old Croatian, who took over at the Volkswagen Arena in May 2022, had overseen a run of 11 consecutive league games without a win and a 3-1 home loss to Augsburg on Saturday proved to be the final straw.

Club director Marcel Schafer told vfl-wolfsburg.de: “In our internal review of the defeat against Augsburg and the overall situation, we came to the decision to end our collaboration.

“We regret this development but regard it as necessary to give the team a new impulse, in order to stabilise the situation. We’d like to express our thanks to Niko Kovac, his brother Robert as well as (assistant) Aaron Briggs, and wish them all the best in their personal and professional lives.”

Wolfsburg went into Sunday in 14th place, seven points clear of the relegation places with eight games remaining.

Kovac said: “From our point of view, the last one and a half years have been characterised by a very trusting, professional and amicable collaboration with the team, the Wolfsburg staff – particularly, of course, with Marcel Schafer, Jorg Schmadtke and Sebastian Schindzielorz – and with the other decision-makers in the supervisory board.

“For that we’re very grateful. Of course, I as head coach am particularly disappointed that we haven’t managed to turn things around, despite some promising signs. We wish the team, the whole club and their fans all the best for the rest of this season and beyond.”