Kuban replace Munteanu with Goncharenko

FC Kuban Krasnodar have dismissed coach Dorinel Munteanu after just two and a half months in the job, replacing the Romanian with FC BATE Borisov boss Viktor Goncharenko.

Romania's most-capped player Munteanu was appointed on 31 July and led the Russian club through two qualifying rounds to earn Kuban their UEFA Europa League group stage debut. However, the 45-year-old has paid the price for his team's two Group A defeats and a run of one win in six Premier-Liga matches. He is succeeded by Goncharenko, 36, who leaves BATE Borisov after six years to sign a contract until May 2017.

"Munteanu did well. He put his heart into the job but everything depends on the results. We were forced to think about changes," said Kuban sporting director Sergei Doronchenko. Munteanu had moved to Russia in 2012 with FC Mordovia Saransk, having previously coached CFR 1907 Cluj and FC Steaua Bucureşti, among others, in Romania. He took over from Kuban caretaker manager Igor Osinkin, following Leonid Kuchuk's June departure from the Krasnodar outfit.

Goncharenko arrives in south-western Russia after landing five Belarusian Premier League titles with BATE, whom he also steered into the UEFA Champions League group stage three times. "Six years' coaching in one place – it's a long period. Now it's time to part ways," said the man whose UEFA Champions League coaching debut came at the age of 31. "It's part of coaching. You cannot be at one place for too long. You should look for ways to keep progressing. I felt comfortable in Borisov but needed to move on."