Hamburg, March 23 (IANS): Bundesliga side Hamburger SV sacked coach Josef Zinnbauer with immediate effect to appoint Peter Knaebel until the end of the season, it announced in a statement.

A day after Hamburg's 0-1 loss to Hertha Berlin, the club took the action on Sunday as eight rounds ahead of the season's final by releasing coach Zinnbauer with immediate effect, reports Xinhua.

"Josef Zinnbauer showed great passion and maximum commitment from the first day. He gave everything for the HSV. For all this, we want to thank him," Hamburg's CEO Dietmar Beiersdorfer said in the statement.

"However, according to our latest results and considering the overall sporting situation we decided to make a change."

As a consequence, Hamburg sporting director Peter Knaebel will take over until the end of the season.

"We are convinced that this is the best option for us in our situation. Peter knows the team and the circumstances and is thus able to act immediately."

Hamburg sit currently on the 16th position of the Bundesliga standings which is a relegation play-off spot.

The "HSV" is the only team in the Bundesliga history that never relegated into the second division.