All change at Nantes

French first division club FC Nantes Atlantique sacked coach Raynald Denoueix on Friday and replaced him with Argentinian Angel Marcos after a run of disappointing results during this season's league campaign.

Different way of communicating
Explaining his decision at a press conference Nantes president Jean-Luc Gripond said: "We need to give back to the club and the players results more in line with what they merit. That does not call into question the respect we have for the work of Raynald Denoueix who is a great coach. We weren't trying to create a shock. Angel Marcos has a profile which corresponds to the Nantes way of playing. His ideas are close to those of Raynald Denoueix his way of communicating is probably different."

Job offer
Gripond also revealed that Denoueix has been offered another 'high-ranking' position at the club. "[He] has refused because he hopes, first of all, to take a rest," Gripond said. "But I retain a hope that he will eventually accept our offer."

Adrift of leaders
Nantes, last year's French champions, have struggled since the beginning of the season and are currently second from bottom in Le Championnat standings, 25 points behind leaders RC Lens. The club are in the second group stage of the UEFA Champions League, but are bottom of Group A with no points from their first two games.

Former Nantes player
Marcos, a Nantes player between 1971 and 1975, will face an uphill task in trying to prevent the Beaujoire stadium outfit from crashing into the second division. The 58-year-old previously coached FC Lorient, the bottom-placed club in the French first division.

Pouliquen joins Lorient
Marcos has been replaced at Loreint by Yvon Pouliquen, previously the technical director at the RC Strasbourg training centre. "I will try to save Lorient from relegation," Pouliquen said. "I was born in Brittany, so I know the way Lorient are used to playing."