RIO DE JANEIRO, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- Diego Aguirre has been sacked as manager of Santos after less than six weeks in charge, the Brazilian Serie A club said on Friday.

The announcement followed Santos' 3-0 home defeat to Cruzeiro on Thursday, a result that left the eight-time Serie A champions in the relegation zone with just five wins from 23 games.

Santos said in a statement that assistant manager Juan Verzeri and Juan Andres Iraola had also departed, along with fitness coaches Fernando Pinatares and Ignacio Pinatares.

Aguirre led Santos to one win and four defeats in his five matches in the Santos dugout.

The 58-year-old Uruguayan is the third manager to be sacked by Santos this year, joining Odair Hellmann and Paulo Turra.

Santos said assistant coach Marcelo Fernandes would take charge of the first team on an interim basis.