Struggling Hoffenheim hire Gisdol

Bundesliga strugglers TSG 1899 Hoffenheim have parted company with coach Marco Kurz and sporting director Andreas Müller, with Markus Gisdol put in charge of "rebuilding the club in the current season and beyond".

Hoffenheim suffered a 3-0 loss at FC Schalke 04 on Saturday and are now second from bottom in the German top flight, nine points adrift of safety. Kurz had only taken over from Markus Babbel during the winter break, but has picked up just eight points during his ten-game tenure.

Gisdol, Huub Stevens' assistant at Schalke until December, was in charge of Hoffenheim's reserve side from 2009 until March 2011, and said: "We have to work hard again to win the fans back with honest football. The right philosophy runs through my veins." The 43-year-old left that post to follow Ralf Rangnick to Schalke, where he stayed under Stevens until both were relieved of their duties at the end of last year.