Berg sacked by Blackburn

Werder Bremen have appointed Thomas Eichin as their new director of sport.

Eichin, who currently works in a similar position for Cologne's ice hockey team, will replace Klaus Allofs, who left the club in November to join Wolfsburg.

Eichin will begin work with Bremen in the spring, at the end of the ice hockey season, and his appointment has been welcomed by the club's chairman Willi Lemke.

"We had announced that we would find a smart solution to succeed Klaus Allofs and we have found it with Thomas Eichin," he said.

"He was on our shortlist from the very beginning and fits perfectly into the profile we had drawn up given his previous experience.

"He is an experienced negotiator, he knows the Bundesliga and has proven in the ice hockey world that he can survive the highs and lows at the top of a club with a great tradition."

Eichin, a former professional footballer, will be officially presented later on Monday having spent the last 13 years working for the Cologne Sharks ice hockey club following the end of his playing career.

"This is a unique opportunity for me to return to football in a very interesting position at such a renowned club," said the 46-year-old.

"I am delighted with the faith the Werder Bremen bosses have placed in me. I would particularly like to thank the management of the Cologne Sharks, who allowed me to take this opportunity from the spring."

Rovers have won just once since Berg took over from Steve Kean, a run of form that has seen them slide down to 17th in the Championship table.

The 1-0 defeat to Middlesbrough on Boxing Day - a fifth loss in their last six games - was the final straw for the club's Indian owners.

Blackburn's senior management team, including global advisor Shebby Singh and managing director Derek Shaw, will meet today to discuss a replacement.

Balaji Rao, director of Venky's who own Rovers, told the Times of India: "We have not been doing well and dropping points and losing matches quite often. I want to go up."

Berg, 43, played over 200 times for the Ewood Park club in the 1990s before joining Manchester United.

He arrived as manager at the beginning of November to replace Kean but has become the second managerial casualty at the club in two months.

Berg began his management career in Norway in 2005 with Lyn before moving to Lillestrom and then Rovers.

Former manager Mark Hughes - sacked as QPR boss earlier this season - is the bookies' favourite to be appointed.