Sedan have appointed Dominique Bathenay as their new coach following the sacking of Henri Stambouli earlier today.

Sedan were beaten 4-1 by Nantes last night to leave them 16th in the 20-team division with 24 points from 23 matches, prompting the club to fire Stambouli. The 41-year-old coach will remain on the club’s books in an as yet unspecified role.

Sedan president Pascal Urano confirmed: “This decision became necessary in order to put back the team in the right way. However, we will see with calm and with poise what we will do and how we will do it.”

The club’s sporting director Jean-Marc Pellissier added: “Bathenay is with the club until June 2003. Whether or not his contract with us is renewed will be decided by whether or not the club achieve their objective. We needed to find someone fast. We knew Dominique Bathenay, he came to see us a few times and we knew his qualifications. We were in an emergency situation, but we know he is up for the challenge.”

Bathenay won the French Cup a record five times as a player, along with three league championships with Saint-Etienne. He was capped 20 times by the French national team.