The San Jose Earthquakes have fired head coach Mikael Stahre, the club announced Monday. The Quakes have also fired assistant coach Alex de Crook.

Assistant coach Steve Ralston will take over the last place Quakes for the remainder of the season.

“We felt we needed a change and decided that the six remaining games represent an opportunity for all of us to begin heading in a new direction and to evaluate our options actively with a single goal in mind: to strengthen our First Team for the upcoming season and beyond,” said Earthquakes general manager Jesse Fioranelli.

The 43-year-old Swedish coach finishes his tenure in San Jose with a 4-16-8 (W-L-D) record after less than one season in charge.

Stahre took over San Jose ahead of the 2018 season hoping to improve upon the Quakes sixth place finish in the West in 2017.

After starting the season hot with two successive wins, San Jose regressed quickly, earning just 14 points through their next 26 MLS games with the third-worst defense in the league. Rumors of locker room problems surfaced when Stahre subbed off midfielder Fatai Alashe at halftime after just a four-minute appearance, prompting Chris Wondolowski to make a public statement voicing support for Stahre.

The Earthquakes have won just two of their last 19 games and were the first team mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. They most recently lost 5-1 at home against Sporting Kansas City.

San Jose next hosts Atlanta United on Wednesday at Avaya Stadium.