AS Saint-Etienne suffered a dismal defeat in the Ligue 1 derby against Olympique Lyonnais at Groupama Stadium on Sunday evening (0-2).
A setback, the fifth in six days of championship, which immerses the Greens definitively in the crisis. Now sixteenth in the standings, ASSE is only two points ahead of Nîmes, the roadblocker. Suffice to say that the time is serious in Sainté, even if an enticing semi-final of the Coupe de France against the Rennes title holder is looming next Thursday in the Chaudron. In the meantime, Sainté will try to resolve certain internal problems. And there are many of them lately … If Claude Puel is not yet threatened, David Wantier, himself, has already paid the price for this failed season. Last week, the former director of the recruiting cell was summoned to an interview prior to a dismissal procedure by its leaders. In the coming days, and while “The Stéphane club is trying to find an arrangement for an amicable separation”, the former agent will take the door.
Except that Sainté will have a hard time replacing it. According to L’Equipe, the Forez club is currently undergoing refusals, particularly with Gérard Bonneau. “Targeted to take over from this strategic position, the current head of the Servette Geneva recruitment unit has closed the door to this possibility”, explains the national newspaper. The former OL recruiter will therefore not betray the Gones. In recent days, Gilles Grimandi, the former technical director of Nice, has also said no to the Greens, who will therefore have to whip up to find a new manager, especially in such a catastrophic sports situation …