Ajax have confirmed coach Martin Jol has left the club by mutual consent. The Amsterdammers lie fourth in the Eredivisie table, five points off leaders PSV Eindhoven.

Jol, who only took charge of Ajax in May last year, claimed the expectations at the Amsterdam ArenA were too high. Ajax announced on their website that former Holland defender Frank de Boer would take temporary charge until the winter break.

Jol claimed the criticism the club have come in for for their stuttering form has caused unrest in the squad. The former Hamburg and Tottenham boss told the club's official website: "With pain in my heart I say goodbye to this wonderful club.

The amount of criticism that the club has had to endure daily has led to unrest in the club and among players.
Martin Jol

"We started something last summer that I would have finished. But I have come to realise that the expectations after last season were too high," he went on.  "We cannot meet such expectations.

"The amount of criticism that the club has had to endure daily has led to unrest in the club and among players," Jol continued.  "I take this decision consciously before AC Milan v Ajax (in the Champions League) is played (on Wednesday). The coming weeks are very important and I sincerely hope that something happens in the squad to make it in the short term a winning team."

The Amsterdammers finished second in the league last term, a point behind FC Twente, scoring 106 goals and with a staggering goal difference of plus 86. They have struggled to repeat their end-of-season form in the early part of this campaign, though.