Ajax have appointed Henk ten Cate, assistant to Frank Rijkaard at Barcelona, as their new head coach.

Amsterdam-born Ten Cate, 51, will replace Danny Blind whom Ajax sacked earlier this month, just over a year after he was appointed to replace Ronald Koeman.

Ajax said in a statement Ten Cate had signed a two-year contract until July 2008.

Last season, after taking over for the last two months of the season, Blind guided Ajax to second place in the league and Champions League qualification. They also won the Dutch Super Cup in August.

This season Ajax finished fourth, 24 points behind champions PSV Eindhoven, although they qualified for the Champions League third qualifying round via the playoffs.