Hamburger SV have announced the appointment of their fourth manager of the 2014/2015 season, with Bruno Labbadia returning to the club for a second stint in charge.

Labbadia’s contract will run until the end of next season, and is also valid for the 2. Bundesliga should die Rothosen get relegated this term.

The 49-year old's return to the hotseat will mean that previous incumbent, Peter Knäbel, will shift back to his original role of Sporting Director, having endured defeats to Leverkusen and Wolfsburg in his two game tenure as manager. Dietmar Beiersdorfer told the club’s official website that the club: “made this decision because we believe the head coach position to be the most important and urgent."

Labbadia was, of course, a player for Hamburg in the late 1980s, making 47 appearances for die Rothosen between 1987 and 1989, scoring 12 goals and helping the club secure sixth and fourth-placed finishes. During his year at Hamburg as a coach, Labbadia steered the club to what was then seen as an unacceptable seventh-placed spot, having his contract terminated with three games to go of the 2008/2009 season.

In Bruno Labbadia we have a strong coach with experience of relegation battles." - Beiersdorfer

Labbadia then spent a few years at fellow relegation struggles VfB Stuttgart with the seasons enjoying varying degrees of success – reaching Europe in one season and a cup final in another, while the club did struggle against relegation towards the end of his reign.

However with just six games to go, Hamburg currently sit at the hilt of the table in eighteenth, with four points separating them and safety; it's clear that now is the time for drastic measures. If Labbadia can turn the team’s form around and keep them in the Bundesliga, it will be a remarkable turnaround after a drab couple of years for the Northern club. Labbadia’s first game of his second tenure as Hamburg coach will be in the Nordderby against local rivals Werder Bremen.

“We have no time to lose,” said Labbadia to the club’s website on Wednesday. “We will approach the derby in Bremen in a focused manner as we will the remainder of our games. We need every point, and I am delighted to note that that HSV still have their fans behind them to the man. Now it’s about unity until the end of the season; no ifs, buts or maybes”.