Martin Jol is close to accepting a two-year contract to replace Huub Stevens, his fellow Dutchman, as coach of SV Hamburg. Jol has been out of work since he was dismissed by Tottenham Hotspur in October. He has since turned down an interview at Fulham and the offer of managing PSV Eindhoven, who have appointed Stevens to take charge from next season.

Jol has never coached in Germany, but played for Bayern Munich in the early stages of his career. Hamburg have a chance of qualifying for the Champions League for next season, by finishing in the top three places in the Bundesliga.They are four points behind FC Schalke 04, who are third, with three matches of the season left. Hamburg defeated Hansa Rostock 3-1 on Saturday, after a run of six matches without a victory.

“Only a win was enough for us, so I'm delighted that we put into practice what we'd talked about in the build-up to the game," Stevens said.

Jol coached Tottenham to consecutive fifth-place finishes, but he was involved in a battle with the board and questions were asked about his ability to compete with the leading clubs.

The Dutchman gained his coaching licence at 25 and set his first foot on the managerial ladder at Scheveningen, a non-league club on the outskirts of The Hague, before moving to Roda, with whom he won the Dutch Cup in 1997. After two years he took charge at RKC Waalwijk, where he was named Dutch coach of the year in 2001 and 2002.

Soon afterwards, he was invited for an interview by Sir Alex Ferguson, who was looking for a new assistant at Manchester United. Jol's reputation in the Netherlands remains strong. He was interviewed by Ajax three years ago.