Hertha Berlin Sack Manager Michael Skibbe

Hertha Berlin announced on Sunday that head coach Michael Skibbe and his top assistant Edwin Boekamp have been sacked.

Sporting director Michael Preetz held a press conference at the Olympianstadion to announce the change. “After five defeats in a row and in the wake of the 5-0 debacle at Stuttgart, we found ourselves compelled to take this step.” This is the second such press conference Preetz has held in the last two months. In December, the club dismissed Markus Babbel.

Hertha’s performances under Skibbe have been nothing short of awful. Losses to fellow relegation candidates Hamburg and Nürnberg saw both clubs jump Hertha in the table. After slipping so perilously close to the relegation zone, a change was necessary to instill some confidence in a squad that is desperately in need of it.

When pressed about Skibbe’s successor, Preetz stated that the club would find an interim manager before finding a permanent successor. While Hertha faces Dortmund this weekend, the main focus will be next week when the club travels to Augsburg in what will likely be a “must-win” match for both clubs.