RIO DE JANEIRO -- Chapecoense have appointed former Brazil youth team boss Marquinhos Santos as head coach as they fight to avoid relegation to the country's second division.

Santos signed a deal that runs until December and will take charge of his first training session on Tuesday, Chapecoense said in a statement on Monday.

The 40-year-old replaces Emerson Cris, who was named caretaker manager after the July sacking of Ney Franco.

Santos is Chapecoense's eighth manager since a 2016 plane crash in Colombia that killed 19 of the club's players and all of the coaching staff.

The team from Chapeco - a small city in southern Brazil - are 19th in the 20-team Brazilian Serie A standings with three wins, five draws and 11 losses at the season's midway point.