The New Saint-Etienne boss is 59 years old and Les Verts’ new centre-back is going to be only slightly younger! The Ligue 1 basement club appointed the former Toulouse coach Pascal Dupraz in a desperate bid to fight off relegation after a 17-years stay in the top flight.The news of Claude Puel’s departure came as no surprise. The former Monaco, Lyon and Leicester boss became the first Ligue 1 coach to be dismissed this season after a 5-0 loss at home to Rennes last weekend. The highly-respected coach failed to stamp his authority on the young Saint-Etienne side. And it’s that youth and lack of experience that Dupraz is looking to address as soon as possible.Thursday, 23.00: (3.80) Valenciennes (3.35) Strasbourg (2.05)Dupraz’s first signing is likely to be 44-year-old Brazilian defender Vitorino Hilton. The big centre-back has a wealth of experience playing for Montpellier and Olympique de Marseille in France and wouldn’t need much getting used to at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard. Whether his fitness levels are high enough for competing at such a high level – that’s another matter. Either way, beggars can’t be choosers and the greens need all the help they can get.Dupraz, who was himself sacked as coach of second-tier Caen in March, has previous experience of taking over a club in trouble, having successfully helped to bail out Toulouse in 2016. It was at that time that Dupraz delivered one of the best motivational speeches ever seen. He spoke about the supporters’ love for the team and their club ahead of Toulouse’s final game of the season – a must-win clash at Angers. That year, Dupraz succeeded. Les Verts are hoping that he’s still got a few tricks up his sleeve.
Saint-Etienne are bottom of Ligue 1 on 12 points, with just two wins from 18 games. Their next league match will be next Wednesday’s home encounter with Nantes.