Werder Bremen dismiss coach Viktor Skripnik

Werder Bremen parted company with coach Viktor Skripnik on Sunday following the northern club's 4-1 defeat to Borussia Mönchengladbach.

Bremen's U-23 team coach Alexander Nouri has been appointed as the interim coach, the club said.

In a disappointing start to the season, Bremen have lost their first three league games of the season and crashed out of the German Cup to third-tier side Sportfreunde Lotte.

The Saturday defeat came after Bremen were demolished 6-0 at Bayern Munich and lost 2-1 at home last week to Augsburg.

"We have decided to take this step because after the game in Gladbach we were not convinced that with the existing (coaching) constellation we could promptly bring about a positive change," said Bremen sport director Frank Baumann. "We would like to thank Viktor and his assistant coaches for their work in recent years."

The 46-year-old Ukrainian, a former Bremen player, leaves the club along with assistant coaches Florian Kohfeldt and Torsten Frings.

rc/nm (dpa, SID)