BRUGES, Belgium, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Club Brugge captain Hans Vanaken said he and his teammates had been caught off guard by the sudden dismissal of coach Nicky Hayen on Monday, two days before their Champions League clash against Arsenal.

Hayen was sacked after the club lost to St Truiden at the weekend and slipped into third place in the Belgian league. He was immediately replaced by Croatian Ivan Leko, whose club KAA Gent were unaware of his decision to leave until they read about it in the media.