New Hamburger SV head coach Mirko Slomka has said that he expects the team to avoid relegation this season.
Hamburg are currently languishing down in 17th place in the Bundesliga table, just one point off the bottom following a run of seven consecutive league defeats that spelled the end of Bert van Marwijk's time in charge of the club.
Slomka managed to save former club Hannover from relegation from an even worse position in the 2009-10 season, and he is expecting to produce a similar performance this time around.
"Our first priority has got to be to stay in the Bundesliga. Even if I would be prepared to work in the second division, that's not something I'm dealing with. I expect us to avoid relegation," Slomka told reporters.
Hamburg are the only team in German football history to have never been relegated from the Bundesliga.
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