Augsburg appoint former Leverkusen coach Herrlich

Bundesliga strugglers Augsburg have appointed former Bayer Leverkusen coach Heiko Herrlich to replace the sacked Martin Schmidt, the club said on Tuesday.

A statement said the 48-year-old had penned a deal until June 2022.

"I am quickly getting an impression of the team's capabilities and will be having many discussions. We have to pull together," he told a hastily arranged news conference.

The 14th-placed team are five points above the bottom three after picking up just four points from their last nine outings.

Herrlich was fired by Leverkusen in December 2018 after a year and a half in the job when they slipped away from Champions League contention in the Bundesliga.

On Sunday, Augsburg turned in a respectable display in losing 2-0 at leaders Bayern Munich but it proved to be Schmidt's last game.

The 52-year-old Swiss was in charge for less than a year having been appointed with the team fighting relegation last April.

Augsburg eventually achieved safety by four points and finished 15th but could not kick on this term.

They next host Wolfsburg on Sunday.