Hamburger SV fires coach after poor results in 2nd division

Hamburger SV fired coach Christian Titz on Tuesday after some poor results in Germany's second division.

Hamburg said former Stuttgart coach Hannes Wolf would take over with immediate effect and would lead the team's training session on Wednesday.

"It's our responsibility to analyze the sporting situation objectively," Hamburg sporting director Ralf Becker said. "We have come to the conclusion that we have not developed in the way we wanted, unfortunately, and that there is a risk of missing out on our season's objective."

Titz took over as Hamburg's third coach of last season in March, when the club's first ever relegation from the Bundesliga was almost a foregone conclusion. The 47-year-old Titz was supposed to stabilize the side and lead it straight back to the top division, but despite promising results and a marked improvement, doubts surfaced in the past weeks, especially after Hamburg failed to win its last three games at home.

Hamburg is two points behind second-division leader Cologne after 10 matches.

The 37-year-old Wolf led Stuttgart to promotion as second-division champion in 2017 but was let go in January after a string of losses left it in the relegation zone.

Hamburg had been the only remaining founding member of the Bundesliga to have played every season since its formation in 1963 before it was finally relegated in May.