BERLIN (AFP) - German club SV Hamburg said on Monday their Dutch coach Huub Stevens would leave at the end of the season to join PSV Eindhoven to be closer to his sick wife.

"I took this decision purely for family reasons because it allows me to be with my family and my wife in particular," Stevens said at a news conference.

Hamburg president Bernd Hoffmann said the club had tried to persuade the 54-year-old coach to stay, but respected his decision.

"We wanted to continue working with Huub, but there are things that are more important than football," Hoffmann said.

Stevens' wife Toos suffers from a severe intestinal disease. Last season he was allowed to leave the club for several weeks to be with her after she had an extensive operation.

The Dutchman took over from Thomas Doll at Hamburg in February and made an immediate impact, lifting the club from bottom in the Bundesliga to the safety of ninth place. They qualified for this season's UEFA Cup through the Intertoto Cup.

Hamburg have made a strong start to this season and are currently in third place, just one point behind leaders Bayern Munich.

Stevens won the UEFA Cup with PSV as a player and later joined the club's coaching staff. He revealed last week that he had been approached about replacing Ronald Koeman, who is joining Spanish first division club Valencia, immediately but decided to delay his departure until the end of the season.