Rostock (dpa / mv) – Till Wiechers is no longer the head coach of the second division handball team HC Empor Rostock. After six defeats in seven games this season, Mecklenburg have released the 39-year-old coach with immediate effect. “After the poor start to the season and the fact that we’ve only won five times in the last 27 league games, we lack the conviction that the team can now turn things around under his direction. That’s why we’re after intensive consultations and many discussions about it The result was to set an impulse with the exemption,” said Empor’s CEO Tobias Woitendorf on Sunday in a club statement.

“This decision was incredibly difficult for us. Till Wiechers shaped this team, led them to the 2nd Bundesliga and was able to celebrate relegation with them last season after an outstanding first half of the season,” Woitendorf continued.

The team will be looked after temporarily by youth coordinator Tristan Staat, who has an A license. The 32-year-old is supported by assistant coach Florian Zemlin (32). At the same time, the search for a Wiechers successor will be intensified, it said.

Wiechers came from SG Flensburg-Handewitt II in 2017 and initiated a new sporting start at the traditional Rostock club after falling into the 3rd division. After staying in the class, Empor won the third division championship in the second year under Wiechers’ direction. In June 2021, they were promoted to the second division, and HC Empor Rostock returned to the professional division after four years in the third division.