Maurice Steijn 'demanded Ajax get rid of two men that stabbed him in the back'

Maurice Steijn reportedly wanted to remain in charge of Ajax, but only if the club got rid of Hedwiges Maduro and Steven Berghuis.

Ajax confirmed on Monday that they parted ways with head coach Steijn after their horrendous start to the season which leaves them second bottom of the league.

In a statement on Monday, the Dutch giants announced that Steijn had agreed to step down with immediate effect.

And De Limburger claim the manager made a late demand that two men who 'stabbed him in the back' were removed from the club before the decision was made.

Those men were Maduro, now caretaker manager of the club, and forward Berghuis.

The demand was not open to discussion for the Ajax management, after which it was decided to terminate Steijn's contract.

The report says Maduro lost Steijn's trust after after expressing his dissatisfaction with his management to technical manager Klaas-Jan Huntelaar.

Steijn also suspected that Maduro had been leaking stories to former employers ESPN.

Steijn had also determined that 31-year-old Berghuis was a a disruptor who should be removed from the selection as quickly as possible.

On Saturday, Ajax suffered their fourth defeat this season against Utrecht leaving them second bottom of the Eredivisie.

Once again play was forced to be suspended due to disruptive fan behaviour, this time a supported throwing a cup onto the pitch.

The players looked to calm down angry fans after the 4-3 defear, but to no avail, highlighting the toxic atmosphere at the club right now after a run of eight games without a win in all competitions.

Back at the end of September Steijn's men delivered a dreadful performance in their game against defending champions Feyenoord , and their fans responded by throwing flares onto the