Saint-Etienne coach Garcia quits

Oscar Garcia has quit as coach of French first division side Saint-Etienne after five months at the helm, the club said Wednesday.

The Spanish coach led Saint-Etienne to a strong start to the season but they have won just one of their last seven games and were thrashed 5-0 in the local derby against Lyon on November 5.

Garcia, a 44-year-old former Barcelona player, joined the French side from Red Bull Salzburg to replace Christophe Galtier but reports say he was unhappy with the way the sleeping giants of French football were run.

Garcia’s assistant Alain Ravera and the club’s former captain Julien Sable, currently head of the youth academy, will coach the side while the club looks for a replacement, according to L’Equipe sports daily.

Saint-Etienne have won the French league 10 times and were France’s glamour club of the 1970s but their last title came in 1981.