BRUSSELS, May 10 (Xinhua) -- Ajax Amsterdam announced on Wednesday that coach Danny Blind was fired for failing to reach the club's objectives following a disappointing league campaign.

    "The first team failed to get involved in the battle for the championship, our main objective," a statement from the Dutch club said.

    "They also didn't perform like we wished, playing offensive, attractive and dominating football."

    Blind was shown the door just three days after defeating league champions PSV Eindhoven 2-1 in the Dutch Cup final. He had one more year to run on his contract.

    Blind, who started to coach Ajax in April 2005, led the club last season to second place in the league and Champions League qualification. They also won the Dutch Super Cup in August.

    But this season Ajax finished fourth, 24 points behind champions PSV Eindhoven, although they qualified for the Champions League third qualifying round after winning the playoffs.

    The favourite to replace Blind is Frank Rijkaard's assistant at Barcelona Henk ten Cate. Enditem