Melbourne Victory have appointed former star Grant Brebner as their interim head coach for the rest of the A-League season.

A two-time championship winner as a player at the club, Brebner will oversee Victory's last five games of the campaign, which is suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic, after Carlos Salvachua left to return to Europe last month.

Victory's women's team and academy head coach Jeff Hopkins will serve as the former Scottish midfielder's assistant.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has presented the club with numerous, unexpected hurdles, but our people continue to respond to the challenge," Victory chief executive Trent Jacobs said in a statement.

"Grant Brebner and Jeff Hopkins are excited about the opportunity to oversee the A-League program for the remainder of the 2019-20 season.

"Grant and Jeff know our players well, and we want the transition to be as seamless as possible. Their priority will be to get the team to the fitness level required to perform, once the season resumes in mid-July.

"With respect to the search for our next A-League head coach, the recruitment process is progressing and remains on track. We will provide a further update in due course.

"It is not our intention for the successful candidate to be involved in the conclusion of the 2019-20 season, therefore they will be officially taking over in preparation for the commencement of the 2020-21 pre-season."

Brebs' coaching style has been influenced by the likes of Ange Postecoglou and Kevin Muscat #MVFC pic.twitter.com/6y61CTywbo
— Melbourne Victory (@gomvfc) June 11, 2020

A former Manchester United youth member, Brebner spent several seasons with Victory as a player.

The 42-year-old hopes Victory, who are 10th in the table, can produce a good finish to the campaign.

"It's obviously been a challenging few months, so it's great to get back to work and start preparing to play football again," Brebner said.

"This season hasn't unfolded as planned, but over the coming months the focus for the team will be to enjoy what we do and play tough attacking football, which is what our members and fans expect.

"This was the philosophy drummed into me as a Victory player, and I really want our players to play with freedom and embrace the brand of football our club has been known for over the past 15 years.

"We have a great opportunity over the coming months to build some strong foundations which the next head coach can then build on next season."