Berlin, Feb 18 : Struggling Bundesliga side Hamburg have appointed Mirko Slomka as their new head coach.

Former Hannover coach Slomka took over Monday at Hamburg following the dismissal of coach Bert van Marwijk Saturday, reports Xinhua.

The Dutch coach was unable to give the club positive results after five months in charge with the "Rothosen" currently sitting in 17th position.

To make things worse he lost eight games in row. The 2-4 loss against bottom side Braunschweig Saturday sealed van Marwijk's fate.

"Mirko Slomka is a recognized Bundesliga coach, who proved his expertise at several clubs in Germany. He showed that he can deal with difficult situations," Hamburg's director of sports Oliver Kreutzer said.

The 46-year-old coach put pen to paper on a contract until June 2016 and brings his assistant Nestor El Maestro along.(IANS)