Ajax have parted company with head coach Maurice Steijn after an abysmal start to the season that has left the team in 17th place in the Eredivisie.

Steijn, 49, who joined in June after a successful spell at Sparta Rotterdam, mustered just two wins in 12 competitive games in what has been Ajax’s worst ever start to an Eredivisie season.

The club has been in turmoil off the field too, with crowd trouble forcing last month’s match against Feyenoord in Amsterdam to be abandoned and the sacking of director of football Sven Mislintat, who is under investigation for a potential conflict of interest.

The final straw was a 4-3 defeat at Utrecht on Sunday that epitomised Ajax’s disjointed season. After the team had fought back from 2-0 down to lead 3-2, some static defending cost them two late goals to one of the only two sides that started the weekend below them in the league.

Interim CEO Jan van Halst said in a statement on the club’s website that “the results on the field and the development of the team are lagging behind”.

Wrong time

“Maurice admitted that he doubted himself if he was the right man in the right place,” Van Halst said of what turned out to be the coach’s exit interview. “We came to the conclusion together that it was better to end our relationship.”

Assistant coach Hedwiges Maduro will take charge of the team for the trip to Brighton in the Europa League on Thursday and the next league match away to PSV, who have won all nine Eredivisie matches so far, on Sunday.

Some former Ajax players pointed the finger away from Steijn, blaming the chaotic atmosphere at the club for the team’s failures.

Mislintat, who was reportedly agitating for Steijn to be dismissed before he was himself forced to leave a month ago, was accused of buying a string of substandard players to replace departing stars such as Mohammed Kudus, Edson Álvarez and Dusan Tadic.

Former midfielder Rafael van der Vaart told Ziggo talk show Rondo: “His team was Sparta level, maybe even worse. And the players haven’t performed. He was really just there at the wrong time; you can’t really fault him for anything.”

Wesley Sneijder, another former star in midfield, told Veronica Offside: “It wasn’t clever of him to agree to certain conditions and let the director of football sign all the players. His departure is inevitable, but the way it happened is sad.”