91�ȱ�

Burton Albion have sacked manager Dino Maamria after the Brewers lost for the fifth time in a six-game winless run in League One.

Saturday's 2-1 loss against high-flying Stevenage was their fourth straight league defeat.

It leaves them just two places and four points above the relegation zone after 20 matches.

The defeat ended a week in which Burton beat Wrexham to advance to the last 16 of the EFL Trophy.

Maamria's dismissal "with immediate effect" was announced in a 13-word club statement attributed to chairman Ben Robinson.

After the loss against Stevenage, 49-year-old Maamria told 91�ȱ� Radio Derby that he would be meeting with Robinson and spoke openly about how vulnerable his position was.

"If it's my last game today, I want to tell everybody thank you very much - I loved my time here," he said.

"The fans were obviously not happy at the end and I totally understand their frustration. It's a winning business and I haven't won enough games.

"What I have to say is that I work relentlessly hard with very limited resources and I've done my absolute best."

Maamria was in charge for 15 months at the Pirelli Stadium, having stepped up from assistant to replace Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink when Burton were bottom of the third tier last season.

It was on his insistence during a meeting with Robinson that the ex-Stevenage and Oldham boss was handed the job on a permanent basis when taking over from Dutchman Hasselbaink.

He repaid the faith by overseeing a huge turnaround and despite spending just three days outside the drop zone before February, he managed to keep Burton up with three games to spare.

That strong finish to their last campaign, however, was followed by a disastrous start to the season, as they collected just two points from the first 21 that were on offer.

A seven-game unbeaten league run, that included five wins, saw the east Staffordshire side comfortably move themselves up to mid-table before their latest dip in form cost Maamria his job.